Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has come under sharp criticism after he linked an ‘honour’ killing incident near Quetta to Baloch society and the broader Baloch nationalist movement.
The remarks, made in a series of posts on social media platform X, followed the circulation of a viral video that showed a couple being led out of vehicles into a remote desert and then shot dead by a group of armed men. The incident reportedly occurred three days before Eidul Azha in Sanjidi, Dagari, but the video surfaced online only recently.
According to the police complaint, the couple had been accused of being in an “immoral relationship,” locally referred to as “Karo Kari.” They were allegedly brought before a tribal leader, who declared them guilty and ordered their execution. After this, they were taken to the desert and killed. The footage triggered widespread outrage, with activists, politicians, and civil society members condemning the act as “barbaric.”
In his statement, Khawaja Asif said the couple had married for love and had lived in hiding for over a year before being lured back under false assurances of safety. He added that they were then sentenced to death by a jirga.
“First the boy was shot, then the girl was riddled with bullets,” he wrote. “The helplessness of the woman holding the Holy Quran in her hands shows just how ‘honourable’ these men are who killed her.”
Asif went on to say, “Those who have taken up arms against the state should first raise their voices against the system that prevails around you. All of Pakistan will stand with you.” He claimed the perpetrators were from within Baloch society, not “travelers from other provinces or laborers earning a livelihood,” and described the Baloch nationalist struggle as rooted in “hypocrisy” and “enmity towards the homeland.”
His remarks drew strong condemnation from Baloch human rights advocate and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Sammi Deen Baloch, who called the statement “regrettable and shameful.”
“It is a matter of regret and shame that a sitting government minister, instead of acknowledging the government’s incompetence and holding his own government accountable for such heinous acts — which are a consequence of state lawlessness, public distrust of the judiciary and law enforcement, and the unchecked proliferation of weapons — tries to shift the blame for his failures onto others,” she said in a statement on X.
She added, “Notice the hypocrisy. If the same incident had occurred during a rival government’s tenure, these same people would have immediately blamed the government. But since they are in power today, there is no sense of remorse or shame.”
Sammi Deen also questioned the state’s control in the region. “When you yourself claim that Balochistan is under your ‘control,’ how do such incidents take place in broad daylight? You are pushing people into despair and forcing them to look towards armed groups. Do you realize how dangerous a trend you are promoting?”
She cited a previous case in Awaran where a grieving family turned to an armed group instead of state institutions. “The group responded and helped the girl’s family. Do you want people to lose hope in the state? This trend is already on the rise, and the same people are later labeled as terrorists, forcibly disappeared, or killed by the state.”
She further alleged that “state-backed” impunity lies at the root of such crimes. “There have been numerous incidents in the past where government MNAs and MPAs have been accused of similar crimes, but no action was taken against them. Six months ago, a girl was abducted in Khuzdar. The family protested and recovered her on their own. The culprits remain free, and no judicial action has followed.”
Pointing to another case, she said, “A sitting minister was accused of murdering a woman and her two children. That individual was granted bail with full state support and later inducted into your own government. Today, he serves as a minister in the Balochistan Assembly, as if there is no account for the blood of the victims.”
Acknowledging societal flaws, she added, “There may be flaws in Baloch society, but before criticising, look at your own province, which is not even a conflict zone, where every year, many more women are killed in the name of ‘honour’ than in Balochistan.”
In an earlier post on X, Sammi Deen had already condemned the incident as an ‘honour’ killing and appealed to tribal elders to “respect women’s decisions.”
“As a woman, this chilling incident is deeply painful and heart-wrenching for me,” she wrote. “Killing any woman in the name of honour is not only a heinous crime but also the worst humiliation of humanity.”
“I appeal to Baloch and Pashtun tribal elders, influential sections of society, and intellectuals to respect women’s decisions. Today’s woman is the same woman who is educated, aware, and fully capable of making decisions about her future.”
She called for a transparent and thorough investigation and demanded justice for the victims “so that no one dares to repeat such a barbaric act in the future.”
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a grave issue across the country in 2024. From January to November, at least 346 people were killed in ‘honour’-related crimes, with the highest numbers recorded in Punjab and Sindh.