May 27, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE: The family of a newly married woman has gone into hiding after she and her husband were found dead in a suspected honour killing near Sarai Alamgir tehsil, Jhelum.
The couple—22-year-old Hassan Saleem and 19-year-old Aisha Razzaq—had traveled from their hometown of Jhelum to Lahore and married on May 20 amid opposition from both families. Following their marriage, the couple had been residing in Bahria Town, Lahore.
On the same day, Aisha’s father, Abdul Razzaq, filed a case against Hassan at Domeli Police Station in Jhelum, accusing him of forcibly abducting his daughter. Three days later, Hassan’s maternal uncle, Muhammad Akram, reported to Sunder Police Station in Lahore that his nephew, who had been staying in Bahria Town since May 20, had gone missing. Akram suspected Hassan had been kidnapped.
The next day, the bodies of Hassan and Aisha were discovered in Sarai Alamgir with gunshot wounds to their heads, according to police sources. Their remains were moved to Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, for autopsy.
Police suspect the couple was abducted and murdered in an honour killing. Muhammad Iqbal, the investigating officer at Sunder Police Station, told Voicepk that initial evidence suggests the girl’s family was involved. “The girl’s family has absconded and did not even come to collect her body from police custody in Lahore,” Iqbal said.
Hassan’s family took custody of his body and buried him in his ancestral village in Jhelum. Although the murders likely occurred in Jhelum, the investigation is being handled by Lahore police, where the couple was reported missing.
Honour killings persist in Pakistan
Hassan and Aisha’s deaths were not isolated incidents but part of a broader epidemic of honour-based violence that continues to plague Pakistan. According to the Jhelum police spokesperson, the district recorded two honor killings in 2024, with arrests made in both cases. However, by May of the following year, four more cases had already been reported, with suspects arrested in three instances and investigation ongoing in the fourth.
These numbers reflect a national crisis. Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reveals the staggering scope of honor-based violence across the country. From January to November 2024 alone, 346 people fell victim to honour crimes nationwide, with particularly high concentrations in Sindh and Punjab provinces. The HRCP has called on the government to ensure the State becomes a party in all honour killing cases, emphasizing the need for stricter legal intervention.