teenage girl was shot dead in Quetta last week, allegedly in an ‘honour’ crime.

Hira, 13, had arrived in Pakistan from New York with her father, Anwar-ul Haq, on January 15.

On January 27, she was shot at by an unidentified gunman riding a motorcycle while she stood at the main gate of her house at Balochi Street, Quetta. She sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the way while being taken to a hospital. She was buried at the Kassi graveyard the next day.

Local police later summoned Anwar and took him into custody. Preliminary investigation revealed that Hira had been brought to Pakistan for the express purpose of her murder. “Both Hira’s father and her maternal uncle, Muhammad Tayyab, are involved in the murder. Both have confessed to their crime. It was Tayyab who shot at her,” investigation officer Bismillah Khan told the media.

The family has lived in the US for 25 years. Hira had recently started posting content on TikTok before her family moved back to Pakistan. SSP Zohaib Mohsin, in charge of the Special Crime Investigation Wing, said that Anwar had said that he found his daughter’s lifestyle, appearance and social activities objectionable.

The US Embassy in Islamabad has been in contact with authorities in Balochistan regarding the case.

The writer is the bureau chief of Geo News, Quetta. He tweets @ejazkan