A woman and her 16-month-old daughter were allegedly gunned down by her relative for ‘honour’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra city on Friday afternoon, according to a first information report (FIR).
According to the FIR, lodged by the victim’s mother-in-law Nasreen Bibi with Mansehra’s Saddar police station on Friday, Nasreen and the victims were at home when armed suspects allegedly entered their house and held her at gunpoint.
“I heard screaming from my daughter-in-law’s room, she was asking ‘Uncle, do not kill me’,” the complainant said, adding that she could not identify the suspects. She further alleged in the FIR that after shooting her daughter-in-law, the suspects shot the baby and fled the scene.
The complainant said in the FIR that the motive behind the double murder was that her son married the victim. She told the police that her son was abroad for work.
Saddar Police Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Amir confirmed the double murder and told Dawn.com that efforts were being made to arrest the suspects.
“Police have lodged the FIR under sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 302 (punishment for murder, 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) at Saddar police station and launched further interrogation into the case,” he said.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
Published in Dawn on April 4, 2025.
