The police arrested a suspect on Saturday for allegedly killing his female cousin over ‘honour’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district.

Bisham Station House Officer Syed Khurshid Ali told Dawn.com the incident occurred in the Bobai area of Bisham tehsil on Friday. The first information report of the incident was filed at the Bisham Police Station on the complaint of the victim’s father a day ago under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant said he was at home at 8pm when his daughter went out to the toilet and he soon heard gunshots, adding that upon going out, he spotted his nephew with a weapon and axing his daughter. He further said that his daughter was taking her last breaths when he reached her.

The father said his daughter had been married for three years and had a young child.

Talking to Dawn.com, SHO Syed Khurshid Ali said: “The suspect was arrested today. Initially, the FIR was lodged under Section 302, but it will later be switched to Section 311 (honour killing) as the incident was related to honour [killing].”

The SHO added: “The cousin was suspecting that the victim had gone outside to meet someone and was in an illicit relationship.”

He said an investigation was being initiated into the incident.

A couple was shot dead by the woman’s family over ‘honour’ in Balochistan’s Mastung district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred over a week after the killing of a man and a woman in the Degari area of Quetta on the orders of a tribal jirga ahead of Eidul Azha for so-called ‘honour’. The police had subsequently arrested at least 14 suspects for their involvement in the incident.

Last week, a man allegedly shot dead his daughter and nephew in Quetta in the name of ‘honour’, just days after the Degari case, in which a couple was gunned down in broad daylight, drawing widespread condemnation, according to the police.

On July 26, a court in Rawalpindi remanded three suspects to police custody over an alleged murder and ‘honour’ killing case of a newlywed woman.

Police had initiated the investigation based on information that a woman had been murdered in the name of ‘honour’ in Pirwadhai, following a jirga in which members of both families participated.

In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.

Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.