Islamabad, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 201 people, including 180 women and 21 men, have been victims of honour killings in Pakistan’s Swat district since 2018, according to data compiled by NGO The Awakening.
The organisation has been monitoring incidents of honour killings, domestic disputes, sexual violence and suicides in the district.
The data reportedly differs significantly from official police figures. The District Police Office Swat recorded 117 honour-killing cases during the same period, involving 85 women and 32 men. Police registered 88 cases and made 174 arrests, according to the report.
The disparity has raised concerns over underreporting and the difficulties victims’ families face in pursuing cases. The report said survivors, activists and officials have pointed to family pressure, social stigma and insufficient evidence as factors contributing to cases being dropped or prosecutions failing to proceed. It also highlighted concerns that some deaths disguised as suicides may never enter official honour-killing statistics.
Samreen Hakeem, Advocate and Focal Person for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG), said that Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code is applied in cases where relatives of victims do not provide complete evidence to police.
She also said that in a majority of honour-killing cases, members of the victim’s own family are allegedly involved. According to Hakeem, relatives of the accused often reach settlements or refrain from providing evidence when legal proceedings begin.
Hakeem further said that witnesses sometimes testify in favour of the accused rather than the victim. She attributed this in part to social attitudes surrounding honour in Pashtun society, where families may consider such cases a source of shame and seek their early closure.
A separate suspected honour-killing case was reported in Karachi in May, when a young couple who had married of their own choice were shot dead in the Malir area.
Police said Nadia, 20, and Najeebullah, 25, were killed after unidentified assailants opened fire on their vehicle on May 25. The incident was suspected to be linked to the couple’s marriage.
According to officials, Nadia’s father, Aslam, had filed a kidnapping case on May 19 after the couple married of their own choice. Police subsequently arrested Najeebullah’s father in connection with the case.
The couple appeared before a Malir court on May 25 and submitted their marriage certificate. The case was disposed of following the submission of the documents, and Najeebullah’s father was released.
Police said the couple were travelling towards the NADRA office in Saudabad after the court proceedings when their vehicle was attacked. Two other occupants, including the driver, escaped.
Officials said armed assailants had been tracking the couple after they left the court and later opened fire on their vehicle.
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