A so-called honour killing of a couple in Pakistan's Balochistan has sent shockwaves around the country and the world, with the police arresting 14 suspects in the case so far.
The couple was accused of having an affair out of wedlock, Reuters reported. It was earlier reported that the couple had married against the wishes of their families.
So far, 14 suspects have been arrested for the cold-blooded killing, including Sher Baz Satazai, the local tribal chief who ordered their deaths.
Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti told a news conference in Quetta that the government would ensure that all the accused were prosecuted.
"No one has a right, no matter what, to kill someone in such a painful and disgusting way, and then video shoot it. It is a crime. It is a murder," Reuters quoted Bugti as saying.
A local court on Monday ordered police to exhume the bodies for an autopsy.
The Balochistan horror
The killings in Pakistan's Balochistan province last month came to attention after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media.
{{/usCountry}}The killings in Pakistan's Balochistan province last month came to attention after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media.
{{/usCountry}}The man who shot and killed the woman was her brother, acting on behalf of her family and tribe, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters in an update on the case.
The chief of the tribe, Sher Baz Satakzai, had ordered the killing, he said.
The man and woman, accused of having an affair out of wedlock, both had several children from separate marriages, Bugti said. The video that was circulating widely on social media on Sunday shows a man shooting the woman in the back at close range, and later a bloodied man lying close to the woman's body. Men are then shown shooting at both bodies.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2024, there were at least 405 "honour killings", criticising the authorities for failing to stamp out these crimes.
Most victims are women, and the killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family's reputation, human rights groups say.