August 09, 2025
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
In a shocking case of domestic violence, a father in Basti Malook, Multan, murdered his daughter and three young grandchildren over a long-standing dispute regarding her marriage. Police say the accused, Muhammad Waris, confessed to killing 36-year-old Irshad Bibi and her children – Ahmed Ali (3), Mohabbat Ali (5), and two-month-old Mehnaz – in a fit of rage.
According to FIR No. 1653/25, registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the incident took place on August 8 at the accused’s residence in Basti Malook.
The complainant, Muhammad Boota, husband of Irshad Bibi, told police that his marriage with Irshad had been arranged through watta satta (reciprocal marriage), as his sister was married to Waris’s son. However, Waris had opposed the match. Six years ago, Boota and Irshad solemnised their marriage in court without the consent of her father.
Irshad had been staying at her father’s house with her children for the past two months. Boota stated in the FIR that he had made repeated requests to Waris to allow his wife and children to return home, but Waris had refused. On the day of the incident, Boota visited the house along with some relatives in an effort to resolve the matter.
Upon arrival, Boota and his companions heard the sound of children screaming from inside a locked room. He said they forcefully broke the door and found the bodies of Irshad and the three children lying in the room. All four had been killed with a knife. Boota alleged that Waris attempted to attack him before neighbours intervened. The neighbours then alerted police to the situation.
Police officials stated that a team reached the location immediately after receiving the call. Upon arrival, they found that the suspect had locked himself in the room with the bodies after committing the murders. Officers broke open the door, arrested Waris on the spot, and recovered the knife allegedly used in the killings. The bodies were shifted to the morgue for autopsy.
Statement of the accused
The investigation officer for the case told Voicepk that Waris had confessed to the murders during interrogation. “Irshad and her children had been staying at the house for two months. Most women in the house were away when this happened. The accused entered the room and, in a fit of rage, killed them. He did not like his son-in-law and resented the court marriage,” the officer said.
The officer further clarified that there was no property dispute involved in the incident, stating that Waris did not kill his daughter over land or inheritance issues. He added that Irshad’s husband lived nearby and had arrived at the scene after the killings.
Police in Multan say the investigation into the killings is ongoing. The accused remains in custody and is expected to be produced before court following completion of the initial investigation and submission of the challan.
GBV rising with alarming numbers
This incident comes amid alarming figures on gender-based violence (GBV) in Pakistan. According to data released by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), a total of 32,617 GBV cases were reported nationwide in 2024. These included 5,339 incidents of rape, 24,439 cases of kidnapping/abduction, 2,238 incidents of domestic violence, and 547 cases of honour killing.
Punjab recorded the highest number of GBV cases in the country, with 26,753 incidents reported in 2024. The province saw 225 honour killings but secured only two convictions. For rape, there were 4,641 reported cases with a conviction rate of just 0.4%. Kidnapping and abduction cases were alarmingly high at 20,720, with only 16 convictions recorded. In cases of domestic violence, 1,167 incidents were reported, but only three resulted in convictions.
Of the 547 honour killing cases reported nationwide in 2024, the majority were from Punjab, followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. The data also showed that rape and kidnapping cases were significantly concentrated in Punjab, with the province accounting for the overwhelming majority of incidents in both categories.
Additionally, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reported that, according to data from the National Police Bureau, at least 405 women were victims of honour crimes in 2024. Domestic violence accounted for at least 1,641 cases of murder and 3,385 cases of physical assault during the year.
The SSDO figures cover all four provinces as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory, documenting the scale of reported gender-based crimes. The report compiles cases registered by police across the country and includes incidents that were formally recorded in First Information Reports (FIRs).