Man kills wife, another man for ‘honour’ in Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: A man allegedly shot dead his wife – the mother of four – and another man in the Tangir area of Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday, in a suspected case of ‘honour’ killing, police said.

Tangir Additional District Police Officer (ADPO) Wazir Liaqat Ali told HUM News English that the suspect is identified as Bareem, son of Chaku, and a resident of Frori. He opened fire on her wife, and another man – identified as Irfan, son of Naimat Gul, resident of Frori – killing both on the spot.

The killings were reportedly motivated by suspicions of an illicit relationship between the two victims, the ADPO said.

The incident came to light at a time when the nation is already shaken by a tragic ‘honour’ killing in Balochistan, where a woman and a man were brutally murdered on the orders of a local Jirga.

No FIR lodged so far

Tangir ADPO further said that “The first information report (FIR) has not been registered yet as no one from the victims’ families has come forward to file a complaint.”

“We are awaiting an application, and once it is submitted, legal action will be taken accordingly,” he added.

Couple were not in illicit relation: locals

Reports circulating on social media claim the slain woman was a mother of four.

The reports suggest that the incident occurred after a man involved in a local water management committee — referred to as “Zaito” in the Shina language — knocked on the woman’s door. As no male member was present at the time, she reportedly came to speak at the door.

It was at this moment, the reports claim, her husband arrived, allegedly enraged by the situation. He reportedly shot her wife and the man at the doorstep in front of other committee members.

When HUM News English questioned the ADPO further about the social media claims regarding the circumstances of the killings, he did not respond.

Tangir is a tribal area of Gilgit-Baltistan, where traditional justice systems continue to operate parallel to state institutions, with local councils often resolving disputes according to customary laws.

These systems, while providing quick resolution in remote areas, sometimes clash with constitutional protections, particularly in cases involving women’s rights and violence related to so-called honour.