At least 13 people, including a local tribal leader, have been arrested in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan over the brutal killing of a couple in what authorities and rights groups are calling an “honour killing.”
Police say the couple identified as Bano Bibi and her husband Ehsan Ullah were likely killed in May near Quetta, Balochistan’s capital, but the crime only gained national attention after a graphic video of the execution circulated online.
The footage shows armed men surrounding the couple in a remote, sandy area. Bano is forced away from a vehicle before both are shot repeatedly, even after collapsing to the ground.
An initial police report names eight suspects and lists 15 unidentified individuals. Authorities are still searching for Bano’s brother, believed to be directly involved.
According to the FIR, the couple were brought before tribal chief Sardar Sherbaz Khan, who reportedly declared their relationship “immoral” and ordered their execution. Investigations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected.
Honour killings, murders carried out under the pretext of protecting family or tribal “honour” are a persistent problem across South Asia, especially in cases of love marriages. Many such crimes go unreported or unpunished.
Rights organisations condemned the killing.
Harris Khalique, general secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said “The state has failed to protect its citizens and instead shields feudal and tribal elites who uphold medieval practices.”
According to the Sustainable Social Development Organisation, more than 32,000 gender-based violence cases were reported across Pakistan in 2024, including 547 honour killings with only one conviction in Balochistan.
Women’s rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch said the murders are part of a larger pattern:
“In Balochistan, women are murdered for love, disappeared for protest, and buried under layers of tribal authority and state-backed silence.”
“Baloch women are trapped between tribal brutality and state repression. One kills in silence, the other in the name of law.”
She added the government only acted because the video sparked public outrage.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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