Couple shot dead in Shangla in apparent honour killing

Bodies of the victims were recovered by the police from a field

SHANGLA: A couple was shot dead in the Shangla district of Malakand division in an apparent honour killing case on Thursday.

According to initial reports, Salman Khan and Zeenat Bibi were found in an objectionable condition by the girl’s father and brother who opened fire on the couple.



Bodies of the victims were recovered by the police from a nearby field. An honour killing case has also been registered in the Krora police station.

Police have started the investigation while culprits are still at large.
Violence against women has been on the rise in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with more than 20 cases of honour killing reported in the province since the start of the year. In February this year, a woman and a man were killed allegedly in the name of honour in the same district.

Pakistan's parliament passed legislation against 'honour killings' in October 2016, three months after the murder of outspoken social media star Qandeel Baloch. Her brother was arrested in relation to her strangling death in July last year.



Perceived damage to a family's ‘honour’ can involve eloping, fraternising with men or other breaches of conservative values. In most cases, the victim is a woman and the killer is a relative who escapes punishment by seeking forgiveness for the crime from family members.

Under the new law, relatives can forgive convicts in the case of a death sentence, but they would still have to face a mandatory life sentence.