‘Honour killing’ victim had husband’s name tattooed on her arm

QUETTA: Shocking details have emerged from the post-mortem of two ‘honour killing’ victims, who were brutally murdered in Degari, near Quetta city of Balochistan.

According to police surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz, the woman, believed to be 37 to 38 years old, had gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and abdomen, and bore the name “Noor Bano Bibi” tattooed on her arm.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti told the media earlier in the day that the woman was a mother of five, and her husband’s name was “Noor.” The FIR identified her as “Bano Bibi.” This suggests that she had both her name and her husband’s name tattooed on her arm together.

This is a common practice in several remote areas of Pakistan, where couples, out of love, tattoo either their full names or the first letters of their names on their arms together.

The report also confirmed that Bano Bibi — who reportedly belonged to the Satakzai tribe — was shot seven times, while the man was shot nine times.

The man, identified as Ehsan Ullah and aged around 35-36, sustained bullet wounds to the chest and stomach.

The bodies of the victims — buried separately in Degari Qadir Bakhsh Coal Mines graveyard and Sanjdi graveyard — were exhumed for forensic examination.

Dr Ayesha noted Bano Bibi’s body was in a decayed condition, while Ehsan’s body was relatively intact.

DNA and NADRA verification samples were taken from both remains, and transferred to the hospital for further examination.

‘Honou killing’ occurred before Eidul Azha

The man and woman were murdered a few days before Eid, probably in the first week of June. However, the incident came to light two days ago when a graphic video of the brutal killings went viral on social media.

In the footage, armed men were seen indiscriminately firing at a man and woman at an undisclosed location.

The Quetta police registered an FIR on behalf of the state at Hanna Urak Police Station.

According to the FIR, the murders occurred three days before Eidul Azha. The victims were presented before a tribal jirga on allegations of an illicit relationship. Bano Bibi was reportedly married with five children, and Ehsan Ullah was also a married father.

The jirga, led by tribal elder Sherbaz Khan, ordered their killing. He has since been arrested and remanded into police custody for two days by an anti-terrorism court. A total of 15 suspects have been nominated in the case, including Shah Wazir, Jalal, Tikri Munir, Bakhtiar, Malik Amir, and Ajab Khan. Several have already been arrested.

The Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court has taken suo motu notice and summoned the Additional Chief Secretary for Home and the provincial police chief on Tuesday, directing them to present a full report of the incident.

Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti had also taken notice of the viral video, and that CTD and local police were active in the area.