The world of HONOR KILLING…

PAKISTAN: Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia with a population of over 200 million people. The official languages are Urdu and English. Pakistan is bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, China, India, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Oman. In Urdu, Pakistan means “land of the pure”.

pak

LAHORE: Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan and located in Punjab, a province in the northeast. The city has been proven to be over 2,000 years old and is described as the “cultural, intellectual, and artistic hub” of the country.

FAISALABAD & JARANWALA: Two cities also located in Punjab, Faisalabad and Jaranwala are only about twenty miles apart. The former is third most populous city in Pakistan and the birthplace of HONOR KILLING’s Samira Tasneem; the latter is the home of her husband, Mohammad Ijaaz.

HIGH COURTHOUSE OF LAHORE (LAHORE HIGH COURT): Samira Tasneem, like her real life counterpart Farzana Parveen, was killed outside of the High Courthouse of Lahore by her family and community due to her marriage to a man that they no longer approved. This branch of the Superior Court of Pakistan is located in the northwest section of Lahore and near the Walled City.

KOT LAKHPAT JAIL: Also known for the area the jail is located, the Kot Lakhpat Jail’s official name is the Central Jail Lahore. Rumored to be filled to four times its 4000 person capacity, this is where Mohammad Ijaaz served his year-long sentence for killing his first wife.

ALLAMA IQBAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Allisyn flies into this airport upon arrival in Lahore. After an estimated 12.5 hours flying from JFK to Dubai and an additional 3 hours from Dubai to AIIA, Allisyn is denied entrance into Pakistan indefinitely and rerouted back to Dubai.

SALT RANGE: An area northwest of Lahore mentioned by the Consul General, Zasar, as he compares Samira and Allisyn to the ibex and jackals that inhabit it. The Salt Range spans 186 miles with its highest elevation over 5000 ft and is considered a “sub-tropical scrub forest”.

 

Other important locations…

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Allisyn does the vast majority of her reporting from her hotel room in Dubai after being denied entry into Pakistan. The city is composed of 85% expatriates (0.3% Americans) and has the highest population of the United Arab Emirates of almost three million people. Interestingly, Pakistan was the first country to recognize the sovereignty of the UAE and the countries remain closely tied due to significant cultural and faith-based similarities.

CAIRO, EGYPT: As Ben’s correspondent base, Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East with over ten million people living in its metropolitan area. As a major hub of education and culture in the Arab world, the city is predicted to continue growing exponentially in the coming decades. Nearly 25 hundred miles, six countries, and a language separates Ben from his usual reporting expertise and the ground work he completes covering Samira’s honor killing in Lahore.