The police in Punjab’s Muzaffargrah district have arrested three elder brothers of the three young sisters who were brutally slain in mysterious circumstances on Monday.

One of the brothers, Basit, has confessed to the killings, saying he took the young girls to a nearby empty house one by one and killed them there, said District Police Officer Hasnain Haider.

Basit blamed the gruesome murders on his mental stress which he said was caused by the pressure to repay loans he had taken from some people, according to Haider.

Three minor sisters who were brutally slain were identified as seven-year-old Fatima, eight-year-old Zahrah and 11-year-old Areesha.

Police sources said they have recovered the murder weapon, a long knife, from the alleged murderer.

Haider told a private-run TV channel that the police were going to interrogate the entire family.

The family belonged to the Chakwal district and the bodies were being sent to the hometown of the girls’ parents in Chakwal after funeral prayers.

The gruesome murders shocked the entire region and Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr. Usman Anwar took notice of the incident.

Girls went to to play

Sharing the details of the gruesome murders, DPO Haider said that Zahra and Fatima went outside to play in the evening but didn’t return home in Mazaffargrah’s Thermal Colony. Areesha went out to find her sisters. She also disappeared.

The family then approached the police who found their decapitated dead bodies the next morning in a deserted government quarter located in the same colony.

The matter was also brought to the notice of Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi who also directed the IG to expedite the investigation process and to hold the accused accountable.