Rahila Iqbal's husband, who was home in Oslo when she was killed, immediately claimed her family had staged the car accident to cover up a so-called "honor-killing." He has said the family never approved of him, and that their daughter married him against their will.

In a culture where many marriages are arranged, or allegedly forced, his claims set off a police investigation. Defense lawyers from Norway quickly flew to Pakistan to represent Rahila Iqbal's relatives.

Iqbal's father, grandfather and a family friend were arrested and held in prison, but police in Pakistan initially said they lacked hard evidence. An autopsy later discovered sedatives in the dead woman's stomach.

On Wednesday, Rahila Iqbal's father, a resident of Norway, and the father of Rahila Iqbal's mother were indicted on murder charges. The driver of the car in which she died after it plunged into a river was indicted on charges of actually carrying out the murder. All face the death penalty in Pakistan.

"Everyone is talking about this," Ali Haider Zahoor told newspaper Aftenposten on Thursday. "There are lots of opinions, with some claiming the police are making a mistake, while others think they did murder her."

He claimed the majority of Pakistani families living in Norway oppose so-called "honor killings." But he said there "unfortunately are a few who think honor killings are fine," said Zahoor. "I think this applies to many of those from small towns, illiterates and farmers."