The National Assembly’s Special Committee on Gender Mainstreaming has voiced serious concern over a lack of progress in prosecuting the recent honor killing of Mst. Bano Bibi and Ehsan Ullah in Balochistan, urging authorities to address shortcomings in existing laws to prevent future tragedies. The committee also extended its condolences to the victims of recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At its latest meeting, chaired by Dr. Nafeesa Shah at Parliament House, Islamabad, the committee focused on the Balochistan case in which a couple, who had married for love, were allegedly killed on the orders of a tribal jirga. The incident went unreported for 30 to 40 days until a video of the killings surfaced on social media. Police only registered a terrorism case after the video circulated, as no formal complaint was lodged by the victims’ families or local residents.
The committee expressed disappointment at the delayed prosecution and emphasized the urgent need for the Balochistan Police to submit the official case challan. While acknowledging the arrest of several suspects, members called for greater effort to apprehend the main perpetrator, who remains at large. The Additional Chief Secretary of Balochistan was instructed to enhance the system for tracking criminal cases from the initial report to conviction and to present these improvements at the next committee meeting.
Highlighting the worrying increase in honor-based killings, the committee stated that persistent gaps in the enforcement of The Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences Relating to Honor Killings) Act, 2016, were allowing such crimes to continue. Provincial governments were urged to strengthen enforcement to ensure justice and prevent further incidents.
The committee also examined a recent high-profile case in Karachi involving the alleged marital rape and death of a 19-year-old Hindu woman named Shanti. Despite a delay in reporting the incident, Sindh Police quickly completed their investigation, submitted the case to court, and obtained the confession of the accused husband. The committee commended the swift police action but strongly condemned the brutality of the crime.
The meeting was attended by National Assembly members Aqeel Malik, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan, Shahida Begum, Shahida Rehmani as well as Senators Fawzia Arshad and Khalida Ateeb. Senior officials from relevant ministries and provincial governments also participated in the session.
