Honor Killings in Balochistan: The Price of Love

You only have permission to shoot me.”
— Bano Baloch

A Viral Video Exposes the Brutality of Honor Killings in Balochistan

On the morning of June 20, 2025, a horrifying video from Hanna, a remote area near Quetta in Balochistan, spread across social media and shocked the entire country. The footage showed a young couple, Bano Baloch (24) and Ehsan (32), being brutally shot dead in what appeared to be a planned execution. Eyewitness videos and social media posts revealed that the couple stood helpless while several armed men, including Bano’s relatives, carried out the killing.

The couple had been married for over a year through a love marriage, without the approval of Bano’s family, a decision that, in some parts of Balochistan, still invites deadly consequences. Bano’s family called her back home, pretending to forgive her. But instead of a warm welcome, they led her and Ehsan to an isolated desert area. There, as shown in the viral clip, Bano was shot nine times, and Ehsan was hit with even more bullets.

This horrifying act reflects the harsh reality of honor killings in Pakistan, where families still murder their daughters and sons-in-law to preserve so-called “honor.” These crimes often go unpunished, especially in tribal areas where customary justice systems still have more influence than state law.

Despite being illegal, honor-based violence remains widespread. According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 1,000 honor killings are reported every year—and many more remain hidden due to family pressure, fear, and social silence.

The Custom Behind the Killing: What Fuels Honor Killings in Balochistan?

In many tribal areas of Balochistan, people still see marriage without family or tribal approval as a serious offense. Families, especially the men, treat women as carriers of their honor. So when a woman chooses to marry for love, her family may see it as shameful. In these cases, the punishment is often death, and it is usually her relatives who carry it out.

This is not culture, it is murder hidden behind tradition. And in regions like Balochistan, these killings often go unpunished. According to the Human Rights Watch, local systems rarely hold the killers accountable. Instead, communities stay silent, and the law often looks the other way.

Honor killings in Balochistan remain widespread not because they are legal, but because they are ignored by families, by communities, and by the state.

Political Spin and State Silence: No Excuse for Execution

Shortly after the video surfaced, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti claimed the couple wasn’t legally married and had children from previous relationships. But does that justify an execution?

Regardless of their marital status, honor killings in Balochistan are a grim reminder that tribal customs often supersede state law, and justice is frequently delivered not by courts but by guns and tradition.

Why Is a Woman Always the Keeper of “Honor”?

Every year, more than 1,000 honor killings are reported in Pakistan; many more go unrecorded. Women are killed not just for love but for choosing their paths. In the context of honor killings in Balochistan, it is enough to simply fall in love or marry without approval to be considered guilty.

A brother’s sin can cost a sister her life. A woman is treated not as a person, but as a vessel carrying fragile male pride.

Urban Mirrors: This Is Not Just a Rural Issue

Many people believe that honor killings only happen in rural or tribal areas, but that is not true. Cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad also witness these crimes, just in different ways. In 2021, a young TikToker named Hareem Shah was reportedly murdered by her father because he did not approve of her online videos and believed she had “dishonored” the family. In another case, a teenage girl in Lahore was poisoned by her relatives for texting a boy.

These incidents show that the same mindset behind honor killings in Balochistan, the belief that women must be controlled, is very much alive in urban Pakistan. The difference is only in the setting. In villages, families may kill a woman with a gun. In cities, they may use poison, suffocation, or staged suicides. But the thinking remains the same.

It all comes down to one toxic belief:

A woman must follow rules set by men, or she does not deserve to live.“

Patriarchy and Parenting: The Root of Honor Killings in Balochistan

This harmful mindset starts at home. From a young age, families teach boys that they must be strong, dominant, and in control. They hear phrases like “you are the man of the house” or “Never let a woman disrespect you.” These messages convince them that their role is to protect family honor by controlling the women around them.

At the same time, girls are raised to stay silent, to obey, and to put others before themselves. They’re told not to talk back, not to argue, and always to think about the family’s reputation. As a result, many boys grow up believing they have the right to control a woman’s choices, what she wears, who she talks to, who she marries, and even whether she lives or dies.

To stop honor killings in Balochistan, we must begin by changing how we raise our children. Families need to teach boys that being a man doesn’t mean controlling others. True strength comes from respect, not dominance.

At the same time, we must encourage girls to speak up, make their own choices, and understand that their value does not depend on how “obedient” they are. Ending this cycle of violence starts with breaking these lessons of silence and control passed down in homes.

State Failure: When the Law Is Silent, the Gun Speaks

In any country, the state should be the only authority allowed to deliver justice. It is the government’s job to make sure laws are followed, rights are protected, and wrongdoers are punished fairly. But in Balochistan and many other parts of Pakistan, that responsibility has shifted into the hands of tribal leaders, jirgas (informal village courts), and even angry mobs.

These parallel systems act on personal beliefs and outdated traditions instead of actual laws. They hold trials without proof, pass judgments without fairness, and carry out punishments without fear of consequences.

We saw the result of this in the case of Bano and Ehsan, who were killed simply for choosing to love and marry each other. We saw it when Mashal Khan, a university student, was falsely accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by a mob. Similarly, we saw it when a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot was burned alive by workers over a misunderstanding.

In each of these cases, the state stood by, too weak or too late to act.

So we must ask: What good is a government that cannot protect its people?
If the state cannot prevent honor killings in Balochistan, or stop mob violence across the country, has it not already failed its most basic duty—to protect life and ensure justice?

Breaking the Chain: What Needs to Change?

To end honor killings in Balochistan, we must:

1. Close legal loopholes that allow families to forgive murderers in honor crimes.
2. Educate youth about gender equality and human rights.
3. Strengthen law enforcement to act before public outrage forces it.
4. Challenge patriarchal norms in schools, media, and religious discourse.
5. Dismantle tribal power structures that override state law.

Conclusion: Love Should Not Lead to Death

Honor killings in Balochistan are not rare or random. They happen again and again because of a system built on patriarchy, poor law enforcement, and generations of silence. Families, communities, and even the state allow these murders to continue, by looking away, making excuses, or refusing to speak out.

But we cannot stay silent anymore.

Bano and Ehsan did not just die from bullets; they were killed by a society that still believes love is shameful and that violence can protect honor. They were killed by a culture that teaches men to control and punish, and tells women to stay quiet or face deadly consequences.

Let’s be clear: Loving someone is not a crime. Choosing your life partner is not a crime. Killing someone for it is.

As long as we keep linking “honor” to a woman’s choices, we will keep losing lives like Bano’s.
We need to change what honor means.
Honor should mean protecting, not punishing.
It should stand for respect, dignity, and life, not fear, silence, and death.

Until we make that shift, we won’t be burying just individuals; we will be burying love, freedom, and justice itself.