Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti on Monday confirmed the arrest of a tribal chief who allegedly ordered the so-called honour killing of a couple accused of having an affair. Condemning the incident, Bugti said, “No one has a right, no matter what, to kill someone in such a painful and disgusting way, and then video shoot it. It is a crime. It is a murder.”“We will make sure that they all will be prosecuted,” he added, as quoted by Reuters.The incident came to light after a disturbing video went viral on social media last month. The footage showed a group of men taking a man and woman from vehicles into a desert area in Balochistan, where they were shot at close range. A man is seen shooting the woman in the back, followed by images of the bloodied man lying near her body. The video then shows more gunfire aimed at both victims. ]According to provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari, the woman’s brother carried out the shooting on behalf of her family and tribe. He added that Sher Baz Satakzai, the tribal chief, ordered the execution. Police have arrested 14 people in connection with the case, though it remains unclear if the brother is among them, according to Reuters.Chief minister Bugti said the man and woman both had children from previous marriages and were accused of having an affair out of wedlock. Earlier reports had suggested the couple may have been killed for marrying without family approval, according to Reuters.On Monday, a local court ordered police to exhume the victims’ bodies for autopsies as part of the investigation.Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the killings, calling the accused “beasts” who deserve no leniency.The human rights commission of Pakistan criticised the rising trend of honour killings in the country, reporting at least 405 such cases in 2024 alone. Most victims, it noted, are women, and these murders are often carried out by relatives in the name of protecting family honour.
