Uncle shoots his niece dead because she refused to turn down her loud music

A 16-year-old girl was gunned down by her uncle after she refused to turn down her loud music.

Rehana Bibi was killed in her home in the village of Matan Kallaan, in Punjab province, Pakistan, after defying her uncle's demands to lower the volume on her tape-recorder.

'Two bullets were fired at the girl. One hit her in the head while the other on her face. She died on the spot,' a police official told local media.

Violence against women is rampant in Pakistan, with hundreds killed every year in the name of 'honour'.

Rehana's father, Munsib Khan, told police that on Saturday he had left home early to go to work. His younger brother, Muhammad Gullistan, came to his house at 10am.

It is believed Gullistan found Rehana listening to loud music and told her to turn it off. She refused and the pair began to fight.

'The girl Rehana Bibi was alone at her home and was listening to music when her uncle Muhammad Gulistan... came to her house and asked to lower the volume,' Sadat Ali, an official on duty at Kallar Kahar police station, told AFP.

'On her refusal, they quarrelled and Gulistan shot her dead,' said Mr Ali. Gullistan fled the village after the attack.

Mr Khan went to police to register a case against his brother. Another police official, Ali Akbar, said they were now attempting to arrest the killer.

'We have registered a case against him and are making efforts to trace him,' the policeman said.

Police said they were not aware of any family feud leading up to the attack.

In Pakistan's highly patriarchal and often violent society, women are frequently killed over minor issues or so-called matters of 'honour'.

The Aurat Foundation, a campaign group that works to improve women's lives in Pakistan, says more than 3,000 have been killed for 'honour' since 2008.

AFP/Dailymail