QUETTA: A local court in Quetta on Monday ordered the exhumation of a woman’s body who was killed alongside a man in what police suspect was a so-called honour-related crime.
The couple, who has not been identified yet, were shot dead on the orders of a local tribal Jirga last month.
The incident gained national attention after a video went viral on social media, showing a group of men forcing a couple out of a vehicle and leading them into a desert, where they were shot at close range.
The exhumation is being conducted under the direct supervision of the judicial magistrate.
Taking immediate notice, Balochistan CM Bugti in a post on X, said that a case on terrorism charges was registered and 11 suspects had been arrested so far, adding that the operation was ongoing and all culprits would be brought to justice. “The state stands with the oppressed,” he declared.
However, the police on Monday arrested two more people in the gruesome murder case, including the prime suspect.
A case was also registered against suspects on the state’s complaint at Quetta’s Hanna-Urak Police Station.
According to the FIR, the case was registered under Sections 302 (murder), 149 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 147 (rioting) of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
Meanwhile, a local court in Quetta handed over suspect Sardar Sherbaz Khan to the Serious Crime Investigation Wing on a one-day physical remand for further interrogation in the murder case.
In a separate development, Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice has taken notice of the incident and has summoned the additional chief secretary (Home) and IGP Balochistan for tomorrow’s hearing.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club separately a day earlier, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that the personnel from the provincial police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) were present in the area.
He said that both families did not report the incident; however, the state became a complainant to take action against the culprits.
Rind said that the authorities sent data to the National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) to identify people in the video, as well as the excise department was approached to trace the motorcycle via its number plate.
Sharing further details with the journalists, the spokesperson said that tribes and persons were also traced; however, the identities of those were not being disclosed “due to a strategy”.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024.
According to the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) 2024 report ‘Mapping Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Pakistan’, 2,238 cases of domestic violence, 547 cases of honour killings and 5,339 cases of rape were reported across the country, while conviction rates stood below 2% for each of these crimes.
From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country. The previous two years also saw a consistent rise in murders related to the so-called ‘honour’.
In 2023, the country saw a total of 490 ‘honour’ killing incidents taking place, while in 2022, as many as 590 people lost their lives to ‘honour’ killing.
