Police arrest 11 suspects over ‘honour killing’ of newlywed couple in Pakistan

A Pakistani flag flies on a lookout in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

QUETTA, Pakistan — Police in southwestern Pakistan arrested 11 suspects after a video went viral, showing a young couple murdered for marrying without their families’ approval, authorities said Monday.

The disturbing footage caused an uproar in the country, with activists demanding swift justice and a stop to so-called honour killings, where family members target women who don’t follow local traditions and culture or decide to marry someone of their choosing.

The video, which surfaced over the weekend on social media and was viewed by The Associated Press, showed a man executing the young couple at close range in daylight as others stood by. Police confirmed the authenticity of the footage, saying the killings happened in the Deghari district in the province of Balochistan, said Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti

In the video, several men arrive in pickup trucks in a mountainous region, and a young woman, speaking the local language, says she is legally married.

“Come, walk seven steps with me, and then you can only shoot me,” she says. It isn’t clear what she meant.

A man follows her, takes out a gun and shoots her three times before she collapses on the ground. He then shoots and kills her husband before another man takes out a gun and joins him in shooting the groom. The video ends with both victims lying bloodied on the ground.

Local police identified the bride and groom only as Bano Bibi and Ahsan Ullah and released some of the suspects’ names, saying the provincial government had initiated the investigation as none of the couple’s family members came forward.

“The bravery shown by the slain woman is both humbling and remarkable, as she neither begged for her life nor showed any weakness,” said Farhatullah Babar, a Pakistani human rights activist. He condemned the couple’s killing and called for strict punishment for everyone involved in the “brutal murder of the newlywed couple.”

A tribal elder, Sardar Satakzai, ordered the couple killed after the bride’s brother complained she married without his consent, said police chief, Naveed Akhtar. Both were among the 11 arrested in a series of raids and authorities were looking for nine more suspects, he said.

The video was shot and posted by an unidentified person, Akhtar said.

Honour killings are still common in Pakistan. In January, police arrested a Pakistani man suspected of killing his U.S.-born 15-year-old daughter for refusing to stop posting videos on TikTok, a platform with more than 54 million users in the country.

Abdul Sattar, The Associated Press