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teenage girl was allegedly strangled by her family members in Rawalpindi on July 17. Within an hour, the killers, her elders in the family, had buried her body during heavy rainfall and removed all signs of the grave in an attempt to cover up their heinous crime. They failed.
The girl, 19, had married a man in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, against her family’s wishes. Her in-laws said that a regular nikah ceremony had taken place. However, the victim’s family later arrived at their home and demanded that the girl be handed over to them, promising that they would formally hand her over in a traditional wedding. A few days later, news broke that Sidra had been killed in the name of honour. According to a senior police officer in Rawalpindi, the family elders had ordered her death. She died of suffocation after a pillow was placed over her face while she was sleeping. The police, after obtaining court permission, exhumed her grave for a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death. The investigation continues.
The country has witnessed some more ‘honour’ killing incidents recently. Last week, Karachi police discovered the bullet-ridden bodies of a couple in the China Port area. According to police, the couple had fled from their native town of Gujranwala after marrying by choice. The woman’s family had earlier filed a complaint at the local police station, accusing the man of abducting her. According to Karachi police, they were shot in the head in the China Port area late at night, likely for ‘honour.’ Gujranwala police confirmed to The News on Sunday that a case had been registered for abduction.
In yet another episode in Mastung, Balochistan, two brothers killed their pregnant sister seven years after her marriage because she had married against their will. The murdered couple had been staying at a private hotel near Lakpass Nushki. According to local authorities, armed men opened fire on them. The victims, residents of Hazar Ganji in Quetta, had married in a court. The woman’s brothers had invited the couple to Quetta under the pretext of a family gathering. The couple had left for Quetta but had stopped for the night at a hotel near Lakpass.
The Rawalpindi police acted swiftly after receiving reports about the brutal killing and hurried burial, rounding up key suspects in Sidra’s murder.
“We had received some information about the incident a couple of days before it surfaced,” said senior police official Muhammad Haseeb Raja. He added, “the family of the victim had lodged a missing person case four days after her death in an attempt to cover up the crime.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recorded 405 honour killings across the country in 2024. Most of the victims were women, often murdered by relatives under the pretense of defending family honour. Other reports suggest over 560 cases of honour killing in 2024.
Police have so far arrested nine people. Several others have been identified through video clips and footage recorded at the graveyard during the burial.
Sidra’s family belongs to the Mohmand tribe. Her husband Usman’s family had moved to the area from Kashmir and the two families had been acquainted after settling in the same neighborhood, police said.
“The family took her body in a loader rickshaw during heavy rainfall and flattened the grave to erase any sign of burial,” said Raja, adding, “High-ranking officials are deeply concerned about this crime. No stone will be left unturned to ensure justice.”
The forensic lab and autopsy reports might reveal more facts. Officials say that so far, it appears that she died of suffocation.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recorded 405 honour killings across the country in 2024. Most of the victims were women, often murdered by relatives under the pretense of defending family honour. Other reports suggest more than 560 cases of honour killing in 2024.
A recent incident in Balochistan again brought this issue into the spotlight. A viral video of an ‘honour’ killing showed a man shooting a woman. The footage sparked national outrage. In the video, the victim, Bano Bibi, is holding a copy of the Holy Quran. “Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me,” she says. Then she walks a few steps and stops with her back to the men. A man identified as her brother, Jalal Satakzai, then shoots her three times. Seconds later, he also shoots and kills Ehsanullah Samalani.
Dr Shizra Mansab, a member of the federal cabinet and a vocal advocate for women’s rights, says that the law already classifies ‘honour’ killing as a crime. “The issue is entrenched in our social fabric. We need to strengthen the roles of police and prosecution,” she says, adding that legislation addressing this grave violation of human rights has been in place since 2004.
“Sadly, the government’s response to such incidents is often more about optics than justice,” lawyer Jibran Nasir says. He said the governments tend to take temporary or performative actions once the incidents go viral on social media, aiming to manage public outrage rather than deliver timely justice.
The author is astaff reporter. He can be reached at vaqargillanigmail.com