A Pakistani father has allegedly shot dead his newborn baby girl because he wanted his first-born to be a boy’.
The newborn baby named Jannat (heaven’ in Urdu) was reportedly shot five times on Monday at her home in the central city of Mianwali, police said.
According to Dawn newspaper, the police said the suspect, identified as Shahzaib Khan, was angry with his wife for giving birth to a girl.
Shahzaib, who has been married for two years, was arrested on suspicion of shooting dead his seven-day-old baby girl, police said.
The incident has triggered fury in Pakistan. Reports said, some Pakistan tribal customs still regard baby girls as an insult to manhood.
Mianwali District Police Officer (DPO) Ismail Kharak told the Dawn reporter: “We have collected four spent bullets from the scene and strong evidence will be presented to the court to ensure justice.”
Human rights groups say girls and women face regular violence for a variety of reasons in Pakistan, which sits three spots above the bottom of the World Economic Forum’s 2021 gender Gap Index.
