Daughter burnt alive by mother

A Pakistani teenager was burnt alive by her mother yesterday after marrying a man of her own choice, police said, the latest in a string of so-called "honour killings" in the country.

Zeenat Bibi, 16, was set on fire by her mother Perveen Bibi in the eastern city of Lahore a little more than a week after the wedding, police said.

"Perveen Bibi killed her daughter Zeenat Bibi by burning her alive around 9:00 am on Wednesday," Haidar Ashraf, a senior police official told AFP, adding the teen had married a man named Hasan on May 29.

It was the third such "honour killing" in as many months.

Zeenat's husband Hasan told local TV station Geo News that the pair had eloped, but he had reluctantly allowed her to return to her family home after they promised they would hold a celebration and not harm her.

Ashraf, the police official, said Perveen and other family members had confessed to the crime and that police had seized kerosene oil from the scene.

Another senior police official confirmed the details of the killing.

Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.