ePaper Nov 5, 2015

10 SUBCONTINENT/DIASPORA DESI EXPRESS www.desiexpressonline.com Thursday, November 5, 2015 Pakistani man in Germany kills daughter London — A Pakistani man in Germany, who is on trial for the honour killing of his 19-year-old daughter for falling in love with a non-Muslim boy, has con- fessed to strangling her to death because she brought disrepute to the family. Asadullah Khan, 51, and his wife Shazia, 41, came to Germany from Pakistan. The killer father told the State Court in his home city of Darmstadt that he didn’t approve of his daughter La- reeb Khan’s boyfriend and that he wanted to have an arranged marriage for her in Pakistan. Lareeb was a dental technician. Just before she was mur- dered, her father had re- ceived a letter from police that his daughter and her boyfriend had been caught shoplifting condoms. The girl had also spent a few nights away from her fam- ily and stopped wearing the hijab. The letter from the po- lice about Lareeb and her boyfriend caught shoplift- ing condoms and her ab- sence from home for a few nights fuelled her father’s suspicion that she was hav- ing sex with her boyfriend. On the night Lareeb was killed, she had arguments with her father. When she went to sleep, her father entered her room and stran- gled her to death. The father told the court that he killed his daughter with his bare hands. After killing her in their high- rise apartment, Asadullah and his wife put the body in their car, drove to an embankment and rolled it down. On the night of the kill- ing, the couple had sent their younger daughter — Nida (14) — to a relative to ensure that there was no witness to their crime. But Nida has given evi- dence against her parents, saying that they were strict and never allowed the girls to talk about Lareeb’s boy- friend. Nida has severed all re- lations with her parents and is undergoing counselling therapy. Indian origin basketball player makes waves in US New York — Veer Singh, a new recruit and the first Indian-origin player to play for Seton Hall School bas- ketball team in New Jersey, has been praised for his skills in the game. Standing 6’ 7” tall, the NewYorkerplaysasafresh- man wing and was signed from St Peter’s Preparatory School in New Jersey ear- lier this year, app.com news website reported. Singh brings a desper- ately needed deadeye to a roster short on shooters. He is a great defender and a shooter, the report added. “It means a great deal for them to have confidence in me, because if they don’t, they are not going to kick it out. The fact that they’re looking to kick it out, that’s huge,” Singh said. The teammates and the coach are all praise for the player. “He is going to bring the shooting ability I think we lack,andheisgoingtostretch the floor for us,” a player said, adding, “I saw him play a coupleoftimesinhighschool and I thought he could shoot, he’s really excelled here.” Team head coach Kevin Willard commended Singh for his attitude. “I love Veer’s attitude. I love his toughness. I love how hard he has played. Anyone who can make shots like he can is really going to help us,” Willard said. Over1000peopleattendingtheannualDiwalicelebrationintheGreatHalloftheLibraryofCongress in the American capital. USlawmakerscelebrateDiwali By Arun Kumar Washington — More than 30 members of US Con- gress joined about 1,000 people at the annual Diwali event on Capitol Hill, the seat of US legislature, to celebrate the accomplish- ments of the Indian Ameri- can diaspora. The annual celebration, which attracts people and Indian American organiza- tions from all over the US, was organized by Ami Bera and George Holding, Dem- ocratic and Republican co- chairs of the Caucus on In- dia and Indian Americans. It provides an opportuni- ty to meet with members of Congress and other elected officials to celebrate the contributions of the South Asian community in busi- ness, technology, health care, arts, academics, and much more. Attendees at the event in the Great Hall of the Li- brary of Congress, included Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Demo- crats, and the Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce. Diwali is celebrated by nearly a billion people around the world and more than two million people in the US, a media release from Bera’s office noted. “This event celebrates who we are and all our com- munity has accomplished,” said Bera, the lone Indian American Congressman. “Over the next decade, I look forward to making DC the hub for connecting mem- bers of the community not just from the surrounding re- gion, but across the country to celebrate our progress and talk about the future.” “The United States and India have been building a partnership to make both our nations safer and stron- ger,” Bera added. “The Indian-American community has been play- ing a key role in building needed ties between our two countries, and I congratulate the volunteers who worked to make this year’s Diwali celebration in Washington a success,” he said. “In the coming year, I look forward to continuing to strengthen the bonds be- tween our countries.”

ePaper Nov 5, 2015

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