Gunmen shot dead a man and a woman in Balochistan’s Usta Muhammad district in what police said was a suspected honour-related killing.
The attackers, who were riding motorcycles, opened fire on the two victims in the Khokhar Laru area, within the jurisdiction of the City Police Station, before fleeing the scene, police said.
Police officials said the victims were a man and a woman aged between 20 and 22. Their bodies were taken to a hospital and later placed in a mortuary for identification after the completion of legal formalities.
Authorities registered a case and launched a search operation to apprehend those responsible.
Police said the motive behind the killings had yet to be determined, but preliminary investigations suggested the incident may have been linked to an honour killing.
Honour killings, in which victims are targeted over accusations that they have brought shame upon their families, have been repeatedly reported in Usta Muhammad and other districts of Balochistan’s Naseerabad Division.
The Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights organisation, said at least 212 people were killed in honour-related incidents across Balochistan between 2019 and 2024. Media reports documented 23 such killings in Jaffarabad district during the same period.
Rights groups have repeatedly called for stronger enforcement of laws against honour killings and greater protection for people considered at risk of such violence.