Police in Pakistan say that a village panchayat or council allowed a local landlord to rape the sister and sister-in-law of a man said to be involved in an illicit relationship with his daughter, report agencies.

The landlord, Ghaffar, from the village of Donga Naich, reportedly  abducted and locked the two women, aged 16 and 22, in a room and raped them while Council members waited outside.

Six people, including three council members, have been arrested.  Rape in Pakistan carries a maximum sentence of death. The council members could face prison terms if convicted of abetting rape.

In a similar incident in 2002, in which a woman was gang-raped at the order of a village council as punishment for her brother's sexual relations with another woman, a court convicted and sentenced six men to death.