|
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.
Honor 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.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
