FIR claims Rawalpindi honour killing victim abducted after leaving with gold jewellery, cash

• 19-year-old girl allegedly murdered on July 16.
• Victim killed in presence of community members.
• Police round up close relatives, gravedigger.

RAWALPINDI: Details have emerged concerning alleged honour killing of a  19-year-old newlywed girl following a "jirga" decision where a first information report (FIR) claims that the victim left the house with gold jewellery and cash, The News reported on Saturday.

The victim, whose identity has not been officially released, was the wife of Zia-ur-Rehman, a resident of Fauji Colony in Pirwadhai and a worker at a cloth shop in Bara Market. The couple had married in January 2025.

The FIR registered by the husband on July 21, claiming his wife had been abducted. The FIR stated that she had left home at 1:20am on July 11, taking 10 tollas of gold jewellery, Rs150,000 cash, and her clothes, without informing anyone.

According to the report, on July 17, the deceased was brought to a location by some individuals, including one identified as Asmat.

The police have rounded up close relatives of the victim, including the gravedigger and the secretary of the graveyard committee, in connection with the incident. However, the court has ordered exhumation of the body for further investigation.

The sources said that on the night of July 16, the girl was allegedly murdered in the name of honour, and her body was quietly buried on July 17. Local residents reportedly informed the Pirwadhai Police Station about the suspicious burial on the same day, but no immediate action was taken.

A jirga was held under a chairman, comprising 35 to 40 men and women of the Mohmand tribe. The jirga allegedly concluded that the woman had "brought disgrace to the tribe by running away from home," and therefore, "she must be killed."

To execute this verdict, she was reportedly locked in a room before being murdered in the courtyard in the presence of community members. Her body was then handed over to the women of the family for bathing and shrouding prior to burial.

The victim's body was secretly buried in the dark of night, and her grave was deliberately erased, according to the sources close to the investigation.

The unfortunate incident comes days after a harrowing incident came to light where videos circulating social media showed a man and a woman being shot dead in Balochistan.

The murder, which took place around six weeks ago, involved Bano Bibi and a man named Ehsanullah, both of whom were shot dead in the Degari area near Quetta in what police described as an honour-related incident.

In the video, the woman is ordered to stand facing away from the group before a man pulls out a gun and shoots her in the back. He then turns the weapon on the man and shoots him dead.

According to post-mortem examinations, the woman was shot seven times and the man nine times. The autopsies were carried out at the Dagari coal mine graveyard.

Reacting to the Rawalpindi incident, human rights activist Tahira Abdullah slammed the alleged murder saying that there was no honour in killing women and girls.

"Despite legislation enacted in 2010 and 2016, the ever-increasing impunity, quantum and severity of brutal violent dishonour killings, as well as the negligible conviction rate, requires urgent State action, especially through Parliamentary Standing Committees; as well as widespread public discussion on mainstream media," Abdullah said.

Meanwhile, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has also condemned the incident while expressing deep concern over the alarming trend of violence that continues to plague women and girls in various regions of the country.

 "These are not isolated events but symptoms of a broader, systemic issue rooted in harmful social norms and deeply ingrained gender inequality.

"That these heinous acts were carried out by family members underscores the urgent need to address violence within the very spaces that should offer safety the home," read the statement issued by the UNFPA.

— Additional input from APP