QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti has vowed to bring all perpetrators of the brutal honour killing of a couple in Degari to justice, declaring that “the state stands with the oppressed” and that no one involved will be spared.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the chief minister confirmed that police have so far arrested 11 suspects, while an additional 9 have been rounded up in follow-up operations. He also announced the suspension of the local Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) over negligence in the case.
The shocking incident, which has drawn widespread condemnation from political leaders and human rights groups, came to light after a disturbing video went viral on social media. The footage showed a group of armed men escorting a man and a woman into a desert area in the Sangdi-Degari Margat region near Quetta and shooting them at point-blank range in the name of ‘honour’.
Chief Minister Bugti strongly denounced the killing, stressing, “No one has the right to take another person’s life. Each of the couple left behind five children, and their families must get justice.” The couple was not husband and wife, he revealed.
In response to the viral video, Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court, Rozi Khan, took suo motu notice and summoned the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and the Inspector General of Police to appear before the court on July 22 and provide a detailed explanation.
Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate ordered the exhumation of the victims’ bodies to conduct a post-mortem examination. The magistrate personally supervised the process to ensure transparency and compliance with court directives.
An FIR has been registered at Hanna Urak Police Station, naming more than 20 suspects involved in the honour killing. Preliminary investigations suggest the couple had married against the wishes of their families, which allegedly led to their targeted murder.
The gruesome killing has triggered nationwide outrage and renewed calls for urgent legal and societal reforms to end honour-based violence in Pakistan.
