Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, told a stunned parliament that northwestern tribesman had done nothing wrong in first shooting the women and then dumping them in a ditch.
"These are centuries-old traditions, and I will continue to defend them," he said. "Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."
The women, three of whom were teenagers and whose "crime" was that they wished to choose who to marry, were still breathing as mud and stones were shoveled over their bodies, according to Human Rights Watch.
The three girls, thought to be aged between 16 and 18, were kidnapped by a group of men from their Umrani tribe and murdered in Baba Kot, a remote village in Jafferabad district.
According to some reports, Baluchistan government vehicles were used to abduct the girls, and the killing was overseen by a tribal chief who is the brother of a provincial minister from the ruling Pakistan People's Party.
Some accounts said that two older relatives had tried to intervene, but they too were shot and buried alive with the teenagers.
More HERE.
UPDATE:
...nearly two months after the crime, the Pakistani parliament has announced a high-level police enquiry into the "incident".
According to the UN, over 5000 women and girls are killed every year for failing to live up to cultural and familial expectations of female behaviour, and some estimate that up to 25% of these murders happen in Pakistan.
More HERE.
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