A shocking incident unfolded in Rawalpindi as a first-year college student was poisoned and murdered in the name of ‘honor’. The incident came to light last week when the initial First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the police on Tuesday. According to the FIR lodged at Jatli Police Station, the victim’s father and uncle have been nominated based on a complaint made by a police officer.
The FIR details that the victim’s parents reported that on the evening of February 3rd, their daughter went missing from home at 8 pm. “After extensive search efforts, her father and uncle found her and brought her back home,” the FIR stated. It further revealed suspicions within the victim’s family that she had established a relationship with someone and had run away from home, leading to her relatives poisoning her to death. “She was poisoned in the name of ‘honor’ because she had run away from home,” the FIR mentioned.
The document also mentioned that the girl’s burial took place in their ancestral village graveyard, but news of her death has not been received yet. The victim’s mother stated in the FIR that her daughter was engaged to her cousin, whose parents are also among the complainants. She recounted, “My daughter went missing suddenly on the night of February 3rd between 8:30 and 9 o’clock, and her uncle brought her back home at 1 am.” She further claimed, “The next morning, we found her dead body.”
The victim’s mother also alleged that her brother-in-law and husband had planned her murder, and the uncle forcibly fed her poisoned wheat. “In front of everyone at home, they said, ‘We had to kill the girl to protect our honor,'” she added. Multiple charges have been filed against the suspects under Pakistan’s legal provisions, including Section 201 (giving false information to hide evidence or shelter a criminal), Section 302 (punishment for murder), and Section 311, which allows the court to sentence even if a compromise is reached in a murder case.
Incidents of honor killings in Pakistan saw an increase in 2024, reflecting deep-seated societal beliefs around family honor and shame. According to figures from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), honor killings in the name of ‘honor’ remained a serious issue in 2024, particularly in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, 346 individuals across the country fell victim to ‘honor’ crimes.
