Police in southwestern Pakistan have arrested 14 suspects over the so-called honor killing of a couple accused of having an affair, including a local tribal chief who ordered their deaths, officials said on Monday.
The killings in Pakistan’s Balochistan province last month came to attention after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media.
The man who shot and killed the woman was her brother, acting on behalf of her family and tribe, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters in an update on the case.
The chief of the tribe, Sher Baz Satakzai, had ordered the killing, he said.
The tribal chief was among those detained, provincial chief minister Sarfraz Bugti told a news conference in Quetta, the provincial capital.
“We will make sure that they all will be prosecuted,” he said.
It was unclear if the brother was among those detained.
The man and woman, accused of having an affair out of wedlock, both had several children from separate marriages, Bugti said. Authorities had initially said the couple were killed for marrying against the wishes of their families.
“No one has a right, no matter what, to kill someone in such a painful and disgusting way, and then video shoot it,” said Bugti.
“It is a crime. It is a murder.”
A Violation of human rights
Senator Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States and vice president of the Pakistan People’s Party, strongly condemned the killings.
In a statement, Rehman said, “By killing the married couple in such a cruel way, the law and justice were insulted, and the authority of the provincial government was also challenged.”
“Denying someone the right to marry is a violation of basic human rights. Killing people in the name of tribal decisions is a hateful act. The murder of two innocent people is a test for the conscience of all humanity. The killers must be brought to justice,” she emphasized.
The video that was circulating widely on social media on Sunday shows a man shooting the woman in the back at close range, and later a bloodied man lying close to the woman’s body.
Men are then shown shooting at both the bodies.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
A local court on Monday ordered police to exhume the bodies for an autopsy.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2024, there were at least 405 “honor killings,” criticizing the authorities for failing to stamp out these crimes.
Most victims are women, and the killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family’s reputation, human rights groups say.
