CNN
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Pakistani police have made multiple arrests after several people were said to have been murdered in the daytime on the orders of tribe elders who had formed “illegal” relationships in the country’s latest so-called “honor killings.”
Last month, the murders in southwestern Balochistan highlight the shocking and enduring nature of such crimes in parts of Central and South Asia, where families and community members believe they can restore “honor” through bloodshed.
Balochistan Prime Minister Safraz Bhuguti said at least 11 people have been arrested since the video of the incident went viral on social media recently.
Graphic video of the murder shows dozens of men surrounding several vehicles in the desert.
Her head, wrapped in a shawl, can be seen walking slowly in front of one of the cars, as the group watches, as the man follows her.
“You’re just allowed to fire at me. There’s nothing else,” she can hear the man say in the local language, Brahvi, before he lifts his pistol and shoots her at close range.
The woman stands after two shots and collapses only after the third, the video shows. The video then captures more gunshots.
Another video shows bloody bodies of a man and a woman lying side by side.
CNN cannot independently verify video reliability. Police told CNN they believe the footage shows the murder being investigated.
Police reports seen by CNN show that the man and woman were killed because they were allegedly engaged in a relationship deemed “illegal” by local tribal leaders.
Police reports say leaders have issued a verdict to enforce them.
In Pakistan, honor killings remain unrestrainedly common, with hundreds of cases reported each year, but experts believe the actual numbers are much higher due to underreporting.
These murders are usually carried out by relatives, often by family and village leaders who believe that women have brought “shame” to their families.
The deeply rooted patriarchal norms that equate family honor with women’s behavior, cultural acceptance, and weak law enforcement allows perpetrators to act with near immunity.
In recent years, a series of well-known so-called honor killings have made headlines in Pakistan, eliciting domestic and international condemnations, highlighting the persistence of practice.
In 2016, social media star Qandeel Baloch was murdered by his brother in what is called an “honor killing.” Baroque has gained fame and notoriety in essentially conservative and patriarchal Pakistan with her bold, cocky, and increasingly political social media posts.
Her murder sparked national protests and encouraged changes to the country’s so-called “honor killing” laws. Honorary murders are currently sentenced to life in prison, but changes in the law do not eliminate crime.
According to data from the Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HRCP), at least 335 women and 119 men were killed in so-called “honor killings” last year alone.
Balochistan Prime Minister Bhuguti called the latest murder suspect “unbearable” and “a blatant violation of social values and human dignity.”
