In a society where love is criminalised and marriage by choice is punishable by death, what remains of compassion, dignity, morality, or law?
The recent execution of a young couple — Bano Bibi and Ehsanullah — by a jirga in Balochistan for marrying without their families’ consent is a grotesque reminder that parts of Pakistan remain trapped in a modern-day dark age. Here, both women and men continue to be sacrificed at the altar of false honour and cruel traditions.
The powerful act with impunity in Pakistan, without fear of consequence. The viral video showing the couple’s final moments is not just evidence of their murder — it is a chilling display of how justice was executed alongside them.
This tragedy underscores the state’s failure to fulfill its most basic duty — to protect life, liberty, and property, as the philosopher John Locke argued centuries ago. These ideals are enshrined in Pakistan’s own Constitution. Article 9 declares, “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law.” Article 25 affirms that “All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law.” Article 35 adds, “The State shall protect the marriage, the family, the mother and the child.”
Yet these constitutional promises remain unfulfilled. The state has failed to enforce these rights in both letter and spirit. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, approximately 1,000 women are killed every year in the name of honour. In just the first 11 months of 2024, 346 such cases were reported. The killings have continued into 2025, with recent data revealing an alarmingly persistent trend. Punjab recorded the highest number of cases (168), followed by Sindh (151), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (52), Balochistan (19), and Islamabad (2).
Many believe the actual number of honour killings, especially in Balochistan, is much higher. Numerous cases go unreported, often buried by the influence of tribal leaders, government officials, or politically connected individuals. This particular case only surfaced after a disturbing video went viral — though the killing occurred a month earlier.
Rather than addressing the severity of the crime, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti attempted to downplay it. He claimed the victims were not a married couple but individuals engaged in an extramarital affair — without offering any evidence. Instead of focusing on justice or the perpetrators, he chose to cast doubt on the victims’ character, a tactic many saw as reinforcing toxic narratives that normalize honour-based violence. It is a tragic reality that violence against women in Balochistan remains rooted in outdated tribal structures and the unchecked power of local elites. Harmful customs — such as honour killings, child marriage, and the use of women to settle disputes — are still prevalent and often defended as “centuries-old traditions.” In fact, former National Assembly member Israrullah Zehri once openly stated that he would “continue to defend” such practices. Even more disturbingly, figures such as Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, and PPP leader Sadiq Umrani have all faced serious allegations, including illegal detention, abduction, and complicity in honour killings.
This is not just a failure of law enforcement — it is a collapse of the moral and constitutional order. Until the state takes firm action against such crimes and dismantles the structures that protect perpetrators, justice will remain as distant for victims like Bano Bibi and Ehsanullah as the freedoms they died trying to claim.
Due to the support of powerful people, no action was taken against the perpetrator of these heinous crimes. In October 2021, a tribal jirga in Kalat ordered the execution of a man and woman for allegedly dishonouring their families. Despite public outrage, no arrests were made. In February 2023, three mutilated bodies — including an 18-year-old girl — were found in a well in Barkhan. The victims were relatives of Khan Muhammad Marri, who accused Provincial Minister Abdul Rehman Khetran of illegal detention and murder. Khetran was arrested but later released on bail and still holds office. In January, a man murdered his 13-year-old daughter in Quetta over a TikTok video. She was a US citizen. He was only arrested after public outrage. Even when arrests happen, families are often coerced into pardoning the accused under Pakistan’s Qisas and Diyat laws.
Pakistan passed the 2016 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act to eliminate the pardon loophole in honour killings, but implementation remains weak. In the Qandeel Baloch case, her brother was convicted of murder, but despite the verdict, he was eventually freed after the family forgave him.
This tragic Quetta incident makes one truth painfully clear: Pakistan is governed not by a single rule of law, but by two parallel systems of justice — one for the elite — tribal lords, religious parties, and power brokers — who make and enforce their own laws, and another for the ordinary citizen, where even petty theft invites swift punishment. It reveals a state that has abdicated its responsibility to its citizens and violated the very contract upon which its legitimacy depends.
To end honour killings in Pakistan, all kinds of media — social, electronic, and print — must be used to clearly reject violence committed in the name of honour. Schools and universities should teach values like dignity, equality, and the right to make personal choices. Civil society, religious scholars, and educators must actively counter the harmful mindsets that justify such crimes. Often, the ruling elite, tribal leaders, and power brokers resist change because these customs help them maintain control. But history shows that public pressure can break even the most entrenched systems. In Europe, tens of thousands of women were once burned as “witches” — often just for speaking up, thinking differently, or demanding rights. That horror ended not because the powerful changed their minds, but because people demanded reform through education and resistance. Pakistan must now follow the same path — ending silence with truth, replacing fear with courage, and confronting cruelty with justice by enforcing one equal law for everyone.