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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Viral 'honour' killing in southwest Pakistan triggers national outrage
FILE PHOTO: Policewomen escort Gul Jan Bibi (C), mother of Bano Bibi, who along with a man was killed after being accused of having an affair, in a so-called honour killing after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media, at a local court in Quetta, Pakistan July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Wali/File Photo By Ariba Shahid A viral video of the "honour killing" of a woman and her lover in a remote part of Pakistan has ignited national outrage, prompting scrutiny of long-standing tribal codes and calls for justice in a country where such killings often pass in silence. While hundreds of so-called honour killings are reported in Pakistan each year, often with little public or legal response, the video of a woman and man accused of adultery being taken to the desert by a group of men to be killed has struck a nerve. The video shows the woman, Bano Bibi, being handed a Koran by a man identified by police as her brother. "Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me," she says, and she walks forward a few feet and stops with her back to the men. The brother, Jalal Satakzai, then shoots her three times and she collapses. Seconds later he shoots and kills the man, Ehsan Ullah Samalani, whom Bano was accused of having an affair with. Once the video of the killings in Pakistan's Balochistan province went viral, it brought swift government action and condemnation from politicians, rights groups and clerics. Civil rights lawyer Jibran Nasir said, though, the government's response was more about performance than justice. "The crime occurred months ago, not in secrecy but near a provincial capital, yet no one acted until 240 million witnessed the killing on camera," he said. "This isn't a response to a crime. It's a response to a viral moment." Police have arrested 16 people in Balochistan's Nasirabad district, including a tribal chief and the woman's mother. The mother, Gul Jan Bibi, said the killings were carried out by family and local elders based on "centuries-old Baloch traditions", and not on the orders of the tribal chief. "We did not commit any sin," she said in a video statement that also went viral. "Bano and Ehsan were killed according to our customs." She said her daughter, who had three sons and two daughters, had run away with Ehsan and returned after 25 days. Police said Bano's younger brother, who shot the couple, remains at large. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said it was a "test" case and vowed to dismantle the illegal tribal courts operating outside the law. Police had earlier said a jirga, an informal tribal council that issues extrajudicial rulings, had ordered the killings. JusticeForCouple The video sparked online condemnation, with hashtags like #JusticeForCouple and #HonourKilling trending. The Pakistan Ulema Council, a body of religious scholars, called the killings "un-Islamic" and urged terrorism charges against those involved. Dozens of civil society members and rights activists staged a protest on Saturday in the provincial capital Quetta, demanding justice and an end to parallel justice systems. "Virality is a double-edged sword," said Arsalan Khan, a cultural anthropologist and professor who studies gender and masculinity. "It can pressure the state into action, but public spectacle can also serve as a strategy to restore ghairat, or perceived family honour, in the eyes of the community." Pakistan outlawed honour killings in 2016 after the murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch, closing a loophole that allowed perpetrators to go free if they were pardoned by family members. Rights groups say enforcement remains weak, especially in rural areas where tribal councils still hold sway. "In a country where conviction rates often fall to single digits, visibility - and the uproar it brings - has its advantages," said constitutional lawyer Asad Rahim Khan. "It jolts a complacent state that continues to tolerate jirgas in areas beyond its writ." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported at least 405 honour killings in 2024. Most victims are women, often killed by relatives claiming to defend family honour. Khan said rather than enforcing the law, the government has spent the past year weakening the judiciary and even considering reviving jirgas in former tribal areas. "It's executive inaction, most shamefully toward women in Balochistan," Khan said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in recent months has asked senior ministers to evaluate proposals to revive jirgas in Pakistan's former tribal districts, including potential engagement with tribal elders and Afghan authorities. The Prime Minister's Office and Pakistan's information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment. VIRAL AND THEN FORGOTTEN? The Balochistan killings were raised in Pakistan's Senate, where the human rights committee condemned the murders and called for action against those who convened the jirga. Lawmakers also warned that impunity for parallel justice systems risked encouraging similar violence. Activists and analysts, however, say the outrage is unlikely to be sustained. "There's noise now, but like every time, it will fade," said Jalila Haider, a human rights lawyer in Quetta. "In many areas, there is no writ of law, no enforcement. Only silence." Haider said the killings underscore the state's failure to protect citizens in under-governed regions like Balochistan, where tribal power structures fill the vacuum left by absent courts and police. "It's not enough to just condemn jirgas," Haider said. "The real question is: why does the state allow them to exist in the first place?" © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Times of Oman
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Indian couple murder case: Raja Raghuvanshi's wife surrenders, 3 others arrested say Meghalaya Police
Shillong : Three assailants from Madhya Pradesh have been caught, and a woman has surrendered in connection with the killing of Raja Raghuvanshi, a tourist who went missing with his wife in Meghalaya last month. This announcement was made by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. He further said that the police's operation is still underway to catch one more assailant. In a social media post on X, Chief Minister Sangma wrote, "Within 7 days, a breakthrough has been achieved by the #meghalayapolice in the Raja murder case ... 3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, a female has also surrendered and operation still on to catch 1 more assailant .. " Meghalaya DGP told ANI that 3 men were arrested, while the woman who had surrendered was identified as Sonam, the wife of late Raja Raghuvanshi. Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur police are yet to issue a formal statement, but sources say that the woman (Sonam) was found in a dishevelled state. The woman is being kept in the Sakhi One Stop Centre, a shelter for women who are victims of violence, in the city, and the MP Police have been informed. Further details are awaited. In the wake of the incident, the couple's family had demanded a CBI probe. On Sunday, Meghalaya Minister Alexander Laloo Hek emphasised the state's commitment to justice in the case of the Indore couple, Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife, Sonam. On Friday, the family of Raja Raghuvanshi, a newlywed from Madhya Pradesh's Indore whose body was found in a gorge near Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting a CBI inquiry into the matter. Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife, Sonam, went missing during their honeymoon in the northeastern state. The couple was last seen on May 23. Later, on June 2, Raja's body was found in a gorge at Sohrarim near Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, while Sonam is still missing, and the search operation to trace her continues. Speaking to ANI, Sonam Raghuvanshi's mother, Sangeeta Raghuvanshi, said, "... We want the CBI inquiry to begin as soon as possible so that my daughter can come home as soon as possible... We want our daughter to be found as soon as possible." Meanwhile, Raja Raghuvanshi's brother, Vipul Raghuvanshi, said, "We have written a letter to the Prime Minister requesting a CBI inquiry and submitted it at the commissioner's office. We want the PM and the Chief Minister to extend support to us, and the CBI investigation should be conducted into the matter. It could bring justice to Raja and make finding Sonam easier. The way the Meghalaya police are working on this case, they won't bring justice to Raja."
