A viral video displaying the so-called honour killing of a pair accused of getting an affair has sparked nationwide outrage in Pakistan.
The video reveals the girl, Bano Bibi, being handed a Koran by a person police have recognized as her brother.
“Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me,” she says, earlier than strolling ahead and coming to a halt along with her again to the boys.
Her brother, Jalal Satakzai, then shoots her thrice within the again earlier than she falls to the bottom.
He then shoots and kills the person Ms Bibi was accused of getting an affair with, Ehsan Ullah Samalani.
After the video, taken in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, went viral, police arrested 16 individuals, together with a tribal chief and the girl’s mom.
Picture:
Bano Bibi’s mom Gul Jan Bibi (centre). Pic: Reuters
The mom, Gul Jan Bibi, stated the killings had been carried out by household and native elders based mostly on “centuries-old Baloch traditions” and never on the orders of the tribal chief.
“We did not commit any sin,” she stated in a video that additionally went viral. “Bano and Ehsan were killed according to our customs.”
She stated her daughter, who had three sons and two daughters of her personal, had run away with Mr Samalani and returned 25 days later.
Police stated Ms Bibi’s youthful brother, who shot the couple, stays at giant.
Backlash after viral video
The video sparked outrage on-line, with hashtags reminiscent of #JusticeForCouple and #HonourKilling trending.
Dozens of activists protested within the provincial capital of Quetta on Saturday to demand an finish to parallel justice methods.
Balochistan’s chief minister Sarfraz Bugti stated it was a “test” case and vowed to dismantle the unlawful tribal courts working outdoors the legislation.
Police had stated a jirga, a casual tribal council which points extrajudicial rulings, had ordered the killings.
Whereas honour killings in Pakistan had been made unlawful in 2016, the Human Rights Fee of Pakistan reported at the least 405 in 2024, most of them girls killed by kin claiming to defend household honour.
