Rights Watch | 20th February 2021

Basyakhel police registered case against five for gunning down a 25-year-old man and his 18-year-old paramour for 'honour' in Kokalkhel Surani village in Bannu. For more stories on human rights concerns in Pakistan, keep reading.

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Rights Watch

Two gunned down for ‘honour’ in Bannu

Basyakhel police have registered a case against five for gunning down a couple in Kokalkhel Surani village in Bannu.

The incident occured on Friday, February 20.

The 25-year-old man and 18-year-old woman were found deceased in the home of one Burda Ali, and were shifted to a morgue for an autopsy. Investigation revealed that the couple were murdered for ‘honour’ by Anwar, Ghani Rehman, Marwan, Mujeed and Shah Tamas.

Attorney-General agrees to social media complaints council

During a meeting with concerned groups who had petitioned against the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020 in the Islamabad High Court, the Attorney-General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan agreed to the formation of a council to address social media-related complaints. The proposed council will comprise of civil society activists, social media activists and journalists, and is hoped to lead to amendments to the draconian social media rules proposed by the government.

HIV claims two lives in Narowal

A 24-year-old rickshaw driver from Narowal City died of AIDS after poverty rendered him incapable of traveling to Lahore for the necessary medical aid. He had initially visited the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital where a test confirmed that he was HIV positive, however the city lacked any healthcare facilities to treat the disease.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old HIV-positive Khawaja Sira from Narowal, who had been admitted to Lahore’s Mayo Hospital when his condition deteriorated, died during treatment.