At least 11 suspects, including a tribal leader, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the killing of a man and a woman in Balochistan after a video of the murder went viral on social media, with the case now handed over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW), police said. Superintendent of Police (SP) SCIW Syed Saboor Agha told a media organization that “Eleven people have been arrested, including a tribal leader who issued directives to shoot the couple, and all of them will appear before a judicial magistrate today.”

 The viral video showed a group of men leading a couple out of vehicles and into a desert before gunning them down with pistols and shooting the bodies. Political figures and activists said it was an ‘honour’ killing incident. On Sunday, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced on X that he had directed the Balochistan Police to take immediate action, following which one suspect was apprehended. 

According to a first information report (FIR) registered by the Station House Officer (SHO) Naveed Akhtar at Quetta’s Hanna-Urak Police Station, he lodged the complaint after receiving the video clip that had gone viral on social media, showing a man and a woman being brutally shot and killed by armed individuals. SHO Akhtar stated that he, along with his team, reached Balochistan’s Dagari, situated on the outskirts of Quetta and, upon investigation, discovered that the incident occurred three days before Eidul Azha in the area of Sanjidi in Dagari. 

“The victims seen in the viral video have been identified as Bano Bibi and Ihsanullah,” the FIR said, naming eight suspects who allegedly shot the couple dead.  The FIR also mentioned 15 other unknown suspects involved in the incident. SHO Naveed Akhtar said, “Owing to the nature of the murder, the case has now been transferred to the Serious Crime Investigation Wing for further investigation.” Prior to being killed, the victims were allegedly taken to a tribal leader, who declared them guilty of being involved in an ‘immoral relationship’ (locally termed ‘Karo Kari’) and ordered their execution, following which they were taken to the [desert] and shot dead, the FIR said. 

“The murder was filmed and uploaded to social media to spread fear and panic among the public,” it added. According to the FIR, a case was registered against the suspects 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. The incident was widely condemned by politicians, civil society activists, and the public, who termed it “barbaric” and urged the government to take swift action against the perpetrators.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)