- Woman shot seven times, man nine times: police surgeon.
- Victim woman’s mother justifies act as ‘Baloch customs’.
- So-called honour killing triggers national outrage.
QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Monday approved the bail plea of tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, who was arrested in the Degari honour killing case in which a couple was shot dead in the name of ‘honour’.
Justice Iqbal Kasi of the BHC approved the bail plea and directed the accused to submit surety bonds of Rs500,000.
Satakza had approached the high court following the rejection of his bail from the lower court.
The incident came to light after a video circulating on social media showed more than a dozen men gathered in a remote, mountainous desert area, with SUVs and pickup trucks parked nearby.
The woman was ordered to stand facing away from the group before a man pulled out a gun and shot her in the back. He then turned the weapon on a man and shot him dead.
The woman was shot seven times and the man nine times, according to police surgeon Dr Ayesha.
The couple was shot dead, allegedly on the orders of a local tribal jirga, for honour in Dagari, situated on the outskirts of the provincial capital.
As the video went viral,the Balochistan government was prompted to register a case under terrorism charges. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti described the incident as “heinous”.
The deceased woman’s family was also found to be involved in the heinous act as her brother, Jalal Satakzai, was named as one of the prime suspects.
A video showing the deceased woman’s mother, Gul Jan, was also surfaced in which she can be seen justifying the killings as “Baloch tribal customs.”
She further claimed that no unlawful action was taken by her tribe’s elders, stating they had no role in the decision.
The case was registered under Sections 302 (murder), 149 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 147 (rioting) of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
