A wife, husband and four of their children were hacked to death Tuesday night by four suspects in their central Pakistan home in an apparent "honor killing," the Associated Press reported.
Armed with axes and knives, the men arrived at the home in the town of Athara Hazari and killed the family because the wife, Ghulam Fatima, got remarried 28 years ago, according to one of her daughters who survived the attack.
"[The daughter] told us, 'We all tried to save each other but could not because they were armed,'" Mohammad Aslam, a town police officer, told Reuters.
The names and ages of the other victims were not immediately available. The bodies were discovered after a man delivering milk to the home realized no one was coming to the door, Aslam told the AP. Police are now looking for the four men, one of whom is believed to be Fatima's son from her first marriage. He visited the family a few days ago, police said.
The surviving daughter, identified as Aisha, said the son was carrying out revenge for Fatima ending her first marriage to marry another man, the AP reported.
"It is an incident of honor killing," officer Mian Mohammad told the AP.
"Honor killings" are carried out if a woman is perceived to have dishonored a family by marrying against the family's wishes. The murders are rarely prosecuted and many go unreported, according to Reuters. Under the law the victim's next of kin is allowed to forgive the murderers- who also often turn out to be the next of kin.
It is not clear why the suspects allegedly waited almost three decades to carry out the attack, police said.
