Woman shot dead in Wah Cantt in suspected honour killing

Investigators named multiple relatives in the case after the woman was shot dead inside the Wah Cantt house

A married woman was shot dead at her father’s home in Rawalpindi on Friday in what police described as an honour killing allegedly orchestrated by her husband and uncle through phone and video calls from Qatar.

Samira Aziz, who had been residing in Qatar with her husband, was brought to Pakistan a week earlier by two uncles under what her sister later alleged was a pretext. On the night of the incident, relatives arrived at the family home in the Lalazar area of Wah Cantt and, acting on instructions delivered via video call from Qatar, allegedly shot her multiple times.

According to the first information report lodged by Sub-Inspector Asif Iqbal Khan, the attackers, identified as Waleed and Asrar, who are close relatives of Aziz’s father, entered the house after her aunt was instructed by phone to open the door. The FIR states that Aziz’s husband, Suleman, then made a video call and directed the aunt to remove Aziz’s sister from the room and “let them finish Samira off”.

The two men allegedly drew pistols and opened fire, hitting Aziz in various parts of her body. She died at the scene.

The motive, as cited in the police report, stemmed from suspicions by Aziz’s husband, who had allegedly found her speaking on the phone with another man while in Qatar.

Read: Woman ‘kidnapped’ for Rs200m traced to Dubai

Aziz’s sister, Sana Khan, who was present during the attack, provided a detailed statement to the police. She said that earlier in the evening several male relatives, including her father, Aziz Muhammad, and the two uncles who had accompanied Aziz from Qatar, had met at the house before leaving. The women were alone when the assailants arrived.

Rawalpindi City Police Officer Khalid Hamdani has taken notice of the case, and police have registered charges of murder, honour killing and abetment. The case has been filed on behalf of the state.

Aziz’s uncle, Imtiaz, and her husband, Suleman, remain in Qatar. Police are conducting raids to arrest Waleed, Asrar and Sabir, who was reportedly standing guard at the door during the incident. Authorities said arrests are expected soon.

The case has drawn parallels with recent honour killing incidents in the region, including the Perodhay jirga murder case, and indicates that such crimes continue to occur in Pakistan despite existing legal prohibitions.