July 3, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
A week after a young man was killed – for falling in love and wanting to marry a girl of his choice – the girl too, was murdered in cold blood.
The young man, Sanaullah, was killed last month in Tehsil Martung of District Shangla. A week later, the girl Laiba was also shot dead in the name of ‘honour’.
A decision to marry
When Sanaullah and Laiba decided to marry each other, they had no idea what would happen. The weight of their decision was heavy, but they had no idea about the potential danger it could bring them.
While Laiba’s father had consented to the marriage, her uncles had not. They were fiercely against it especially because Laiba’s family was wealthy, and extremely influential, consisting of police authorities, judiciary and even ministers of the area, while Sanaullah came from a much simpler background.
Speaking to Voicepk, Sanaullah’s father said, “I sent multiple marriage proposals to the girl’s family, but they kept rejecting them because she belonged to a wealthy and influential household and they didn’t want her to marry someone like us.”
According to Sanaullah’s father, both had known each other since fifth grade and wished to marry since some time. He told Voicepk that because of that they had been repeatedly receiving threats from Laiba’s family, after which they decided to elope right before Eid-ul-Fitr, but were caught by the police en route.
A local who knew the girl’s family told Voicepk on condition of anonymity that Laiba’s father had tried his best to reason with his brothers.
“He did not want any violence, and had tried to convince them to get them married, but they would not listen. Fearing for her safety, he even moved with his family to Swat,” said the source.
Meanwhile, Sanaullah’s father told Voicepk that they too had been repeatedly receiving threats from the girl’s family. It was after this that the couple had tried to elope but was caught by the police.
This act followed with several threats, so Sanaullah’s father took him to Karachi for his safety, because he was depressed and suicidal, and also because the girl’s family was searching for him in order to kill him.
“The girl’s family repeatedly threatened my son. Fearing for his life, I first hid him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and later sent him to Karachi. Meanwhile, the girl was kept in a Darul Aman (women’s shelter) in Swat,” his father explained.
In order to save his son, Sanaullah’s father went to the extent of slapping a false case on him and send him to prison in Karachi – so that he would stay inside – inside jail would be safer for him than outside, his father had thought. But when Sanaullah’s mental health began to deteriorate fast, his father withdrew the case against him and brought him back to the village in Martung Tehsil, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
Within a few days of returning, Sanaullah was shot and killed, after he returned home from prayers.
Fear reigns after murder
It was Laiba’s uncles who had murdered Sanaullah, after barging inside his home. A case for the boy’s murder has been registered at Martung Police Station on the complaint of Sanaullah’s father, but the accused still roam around scot free. The FIR was lodged against the alleged murderer as well as the Laiba’s father. However, the girl’s father obtained pre-arrest bail from the court.
Sanaullah’s murder sparked terror in the region. It had also become evident till now that the girl’s life was also in danger, so she had already been transferred from a relative’s home in Mingora to the Dar-ul-Aman in Swat due to threats.
“We wanted that human rights activists, especially those in the region, and the media would have picked up this issue, with the hope that the girl’s life would have been protected,” a local journalist told Voicepk.
Dark foreboding
Instead, exactly seven days later, the girl was taken out of the Dar-ul-Aman by her father himself, under a court order.
Munir added, “I warned her father not to remove her from the shelter. He’s a constable in the police department and works under me, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he handed her over to her uncles.”
When asked why the girl was released despite the threats, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Puran Circle, Usman Munir, told Voicepk, “I sent her to the Darul Aman, but she gave a statement in court saying she was not under threat from her father. Her father also submitted a surety bond of Rs. 10 million, taking full responsibility for her safety. Based on this, the court ordered her release.”
Laiba may not have known what was coming her way. The local source tells Voicepk that she was first drugged, but she did not die that way.
The SDPO details that she was taken to the mountainous area of Dagar, in Tehsil Chagharzi, District Buner. Here she was shot dead and then dumped onto a roadside. The murder took place on May 21. It was later that the girl’s brother went to find her body and the police was alerted.
The “honour” killing crisis
Along with many other places in Pakistan, in some parts of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa where tribal society is dominant and it is much more conservative than in urban areas, such relationships are often viewed as ‘dishonorable’ especially for girls, making it impossible for them to express love openly. If such a relationship becomes known, a cruel tradition often leads to the killing of both the boy and the girl in the name of preserving family honour.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), honour killings remain a serious issue across the country, with especially high numbers reported in Sindh and Punjab, but also of cases occurring in Balochistan and KP.
From January to November 2024, a total of 346 people fell victim to honour-related crimes. The trend has worsened in recent years. In 2023, there were 490 reported honour killing cases, while in 2022, the number was 590.
KP based social activist, Imran Takkar, spoke to Voicepk about the gravity of the issue.
“Abuse and violence against women and children reflect deeply entrenched negative social attitudes. Changing this requires urgent awareness based on the religious values, the country’s constitution, and existing laws. No religion, society, or legal system justifies such violence,” he said.
He stressed that the protection of women and children demanded coordinated action by all stakeholders, with strong governmental support, a focus on prevention, and a robust response system that ensures perpetrators are punished and victims receive swift justice.
“But this can only be possible if this effort becomes a national priority, backed by political will and a transparent, accountable, and effective human rights framework,” he said.
Meanwhile, as the dust settles on the graves of the Sanaullah and Laiba, their story echoes the silent cries of countless victims, highlighting a crisis that demands immediate and unwavering attention.