December 2, 2025
By Aitzaz Ibrahim
LAHORE
Two women were killed in separate burn-related incidents in Punjab this week, with police registering cases and making arrests in both matters. The incidents come amid new data indicating a sharp increase in gender-based violence (GBV) across the province and the country during 2025.
Bahawalnagar: Burned to death by husband
In Bahawalnagar district, a woman was allegedly burned alive by her husband and his accomplices near Chak Qasimka, on Sunday.
According to details, police recovered the charred remains of the victim from a burnt hut several acres away from her residence. The case was registered at the Takht Mahal police station on the complaint of the woman’s son, who stated that his mother had married the suspect, Muhammad Ashraf (step father), five years earlier following the death of his biological father eight years ago.
The complainant said Ashraf, who already had a first wife living in Depalpur, frequently quarreled with the victim. The FIR states that on the night of November 30, Ashraf, accompanied by six unidentified associates, allegedly took the woman from their home to a remote area located six to seven acres away.
The son told police that when the family realised the woman had not returned home the next morning, they began searching and found a hut that had been set on fire. The remains of the victim were discovered in the ashes of the structure, according to the FIR.
Police said they had taken the body remnants into custody for further examination. A case has been registered under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The main suspect, Muhammad Ashraf, along with three other alleged accomplices, has been arrested, while two suspects remain at large.
DG Khan: Set ablaze by husband
A similar incident occurred a day earlier in Kot Chutta, Dera Ghazi Khan, where a woman identified as Zareena Bibi was killed after being set on fire and sustaining severe burn injuries.
Police said the woman was allegedly set on fire by her husband, Umar, with the assistance of an individual named Ramzan and an unidentified woman, following a domestic dispute. According to reports, the suspects allegedly poured diesel on Zareena and set her alight during an argument inside their home.
She was initially rushed to a local hospital before being transferred in critical condition to the burns unit at Nishtar Hospital in Multan. The FIR was registered on the complaint of the victim’s brother, Amanullah. Police said one suspect had been arrested, while further investigations were underway.
Sharp rise in GBV in 2025
The incidents coincide with new data compiled by Sahil, an organisation monitoring gender-based violence, which reports a substantial increase in crimes against women in Pakistan during the first eleven months of 2025.
According to the annual report, 6,543 cases of GBV were reported nationwide from January to November 2025, compared with 5,253 cases during the corresponding period in 2024 — an increase of nearly 25 percent.
The compiled data, sourced from 81 national newspapers across all provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, includes 1,414 cases of murder, 1,144 cases of abduction, 1,060 incidents of physical assault, 649 suicides and 585 cases of rape.
The report states that in 32 percent of rape cases the perpetrators were known to the survivors, while 17 percent involved strangers. Husbands were implicated in 12 percent of total cases, and in 21 percent the identity of the perpetrator was not reported.
The findings show that 60 percent of gender-based violence incidents took place inside the victims’ homes, while 13 percent occurred at the perpetrator’s residence. Punjab accounted for 78 percent of the total reported cases, followed by Sindh with 14 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 6 percent, and a combined 2 percent from Balochistan, Islamabad, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.