State registers FIR after police say 19-year-old was killed by relatives; suspect arrested
A 19-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead by her uncle and cousin in Lower Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after she was seen talking to a neighbor outside her house, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on June 26 in the mountain village of Kharkai, falling under the jurisdiction of Khar police station.
The victim was the only child of his parents. Her father had traveled abroad for work, while her mother died in childbirth last year. After her mother died, she lived with her uncle.
Read: 405 honor killings recorded across Pakistan in 2024 (HRCP)
According to the police, she was killed in the name of “honor”.
Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Rashid Khan, who is leading the investigation, said: The Express PK Press Club that a first information report (FIR) has been registered in the case.
He said the victim was killed by Kalashnikov fire and spent bullet casings were recovered from the crime scene.
According to the investigator, two suspects — a father and a son who were the victim’s uncle and cousin — were named in this case. One suspect was arrested, while efforts were underway to apprehend the other.
The officer said the victim had no siblings and her father was abroad, prompting the police to register the case as a complaint to ensure strong prosecution. He expressed confidence that the suspects would be brought to justice.
Lower Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Captain (retd) Bilal Furqan said The Express PK Press Club that a police team, including women, was dispatched to the spot immediately after the incident. He said the victim’s body had been sent for an autopsy.
He said the FIR was registered on behalf of the state through the station in-charge under section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as section 311 relating to so-called honor killings.
Read also: Only women are murdered in 90% of honor killings’
The DPO said police arrested one of the suspects – the victim’s cousin – within two days of the incident.
Reports circulated that the victim was buried without funeral prayers after the murder. However, police confirmed that a local religious scholar led her funeral prayers and that she was buried according to customary procedures.
Honor killings remain a serious and persistent human rights problem in Pakistan, despite legal reforms and growing public awareness.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that at least 405 so-called honor killings were recorded in Pakistan in 2024. In its annual report for 2025, the commission said the figure rose to 470. Most of the victims were women, often killed by relatives claiming to uphold family honor.
The killings were reported not only from Lower Dir but also from several other districts of the province, including Peshawar, Upper Dir, Swat and Charsadda.
According to KP Police data obtained by The Express PK Press Club160 cases of honor killings were reported across the province in 2025, compared to 159 cases in 2024. About 70 percent of victims in the 2024 cases were women.
Data shows that 374 people were named in honor killing cases last year, of whom 258 were arrested. However, police said that, except for a few cases, many suspects were later released after an agreement was reached between the parties.
