'Honour killing': Balochistan woman shot seven, man nine times, reveals post-mortem report

• Police exhume bodies, conduct on-site post-mortem.
• Tribal elder sent on two-day physical remand.
• BHC CJ Barrech takes notice of the incident.

QUETTA: A man and a woman, reportedly murdered in the name of honour in the Degari area near Quetta, were exhumed and their post-mortem examinations conducted by police surgeons from Sandeman Hospital.

According to Dr Ayesha, the police surgeon, the woman was shot seven times and the man nine times. The autopsies were carried out at the Degari coal mine graveyard.

The couple were shot dead on the orders of a local tribal jirga last month for honour in Dagari, situated on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

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.

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.

CM Bugti vows no leniency

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti confirmed that 11 suspects have been arrested in the case so far, with more raids underway to apprehend others.

He said that none of the accused would be spared, adding that the man and woman were not married to each other and each had five to six children.

Bugti assured that the state stands with the victims and efforts will be made to ensure punishments through due legal process.

“We took action even before the video went viral,” he said, adding that the DSP concerned has already been suspended.

Tribal elder remanded

A tribal elder, Sherbaz Khan, arrested in connection with the killings, has been handed over to the Crime Investigation Wing on a two-day physical remand.

The grave of the slain woman was exhumed under the order of the judicial magistrate.

Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, Justice Rozi Khan Barrech, has taken suo motu notice of the incident and summoned the Additional Chief Secretary for Home and the Inspector General of Police.

Multiple political parties — including the PPP, PML-N, PTI, and MQM — have condemned the incident and demanded severe punishment for the perpetrators.