A chilling report has exposed Pakistan’s battle with honor killings, where murders in the name of family prestige claim countless lives yearly, yet justice slips away in nearly every instance. The crisis, detailed in The Express Tribune, underscores a human rights emergency gripping the nation.
Beyond sensational media stories, the data reveals a horrifying trend. Weak probes, court backlogs, and familial compromises shield killers. Official figures from SSDO’s study, grounded in verified records, show laws exist but enforcement crumbles under social pressures.
Provincial breakdowns are devastating: Punjab’s 225 cases snagged just two convictions. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 134 murders led to a mere two sentences. Sindh registered several but convicted none; Balochistan’s 32 yielded one. Victims, predominantly women, face this void of retribution.
Activist Imran Takker notes, ‘Women comprise 90 percent of targets in a society that already sidelines them. Effective policing and prosecution are key to breaking this.’ Families backing out mid-process exacerbate the problem.
Legal expert Shabbir Hussain Gigyani criticizes sloppy police work: ‘Relatives as witnesses compromise easily, changing statements and freeing 80 percent of accused.’ This judicial loophole sustains the violence.
SSDO’s Syed Kauser Abbas demands overhaul: ‘Enhance investigations, speed up courts, protect witnesses. Our failure to convict signals systemic collapse.’ Deep cultural norms glorify these killings as honor restoration, complicating accountability.
Pakistan must confront this barbarity head-on. Stricter implementation of anti-honor killing laws, coupled with societal shifts, is essential to end the bloodshed and restore faith in justice for the vulnerable.