Thirteen suspects have been arrested in Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province after a video emerged of a woman and a man being shot dead for marrying against the wishes of their families in an “honour” killing.

The footage caused uproar in the country, with activists demanding swift justice and a stop to the crime, which targets women who do not follow local traditions and culture or decide to marry someone of their choosing.

The provincial chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, announced the arrests hours after saying the location and people in the video had been identified.

In the video a group of people are seen arriving in a deserted area on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital in an SUV and pickup trucks. The couple are taken out of one the vehicles, and the woman is given a copy of the Qur’an.

She tells a man in the regional Brahavi language: “Come, walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me.” He follows her for few steps and she then says: “You are allowed only to shoot me. Nothing more than that.”

It is not clear what she means by “nothing more than that”. The man who followed her then aims a pistol at her as she turns her back to him. Shots are fired from close range, and after the third shot she drops to the ground.

A series of gunshots follows and the footage then shows a bloodied man lying on the ground close to the woman’s body. Men are shown shooting at both of the bodies.

Local police identified the bride and groom as Bano Bibi and Ahsan Ullah and released some of the suspects’ names, saying the provincial government had initiated the investigation as none of the couple’s family members had come forward.

A tribal elder, Sardar Satakzai, had ordered the couple killed after the bride’s brother complained she had married without his consent, said the police chief, Naveed Akhtar. Both were among the 13 people arrested in a series of raids and authorities were looking for nine more suspects, he said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said there were at least 405 “honour” killings in 2024, criticising the authorities for failing to stamp out the crimes. Activists say the real number will be much higher because many families don’t report cases.

Most victims are women, and the killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family’s reputation, human rights groups say. Most cases have been reported in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

Conservative families in many parts of Pakistan and India do not allow couples to marry against their wishes.

In some cases tribal chiefs, many of whom are also local legislators, have defended the killings, and chiefs accused of killings and abduction have not been punished.

The HRCP’s secretary general, Harris Khalique, said: “These norms are guarded and practices perpetuated by the feudal and tribal chieftains to maintain their control over both their people and resources.

“Regrettably, in many cases, the state not only protects these local chieftains but even facilitates their presence in Pakistani legislatures.

“This patronage must stop and anyone responsible for such heinous crimes must be brought to the book.”

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report

Pakistan: Young couple murdered in Balochistan desert, 11 arrested in ‘honour killing’ case The police have arrested 11 people in the case. According to the police, the young man and the young woman had married each other against the wishes of their families.

Islamabad:

A heartbreaking incident has come to light from Pakistan in which a couple has been murdered allegedly over their illicit relationship. The video of the brutal killing of the young man and a woman in Balochistan province went viral on social media.

The police have arrested 11 people in the case. According to the police, the young man and the young woman had married each other against the wishes of their families.

Anger spread among people after the incident

Soon after the video of the murder went viral on social media, outrage spread in Pakistan over the incident. Leaders of civil society, religious scholars and political parties have demanded the arrest of the culprits and strict punishment for them.

In the video, some people armed with heavy weapons are seen shooting and killing the young man and woman.

All individuals involved will be brought to justice: Balochistan CM

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti confirmed the incident on Monday. He said that 11 suspects have been arrested in this honour killing case.

“So far, 11 suspects have been arrested, and the operation is ongoing. All involved individuals will be brought to justice. The state stands with the oppressed!” he said in a post on X.

Government spokesman Shahid Rind said that the investigation is on. In the video, some people armed with heavy weapons are seen shooting and killing the young man and woman.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a report that in 2024, there were at least 405 victims of recorded honour killing cases in the country.

A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 crashed into a school in Dhaka’s Uttara neighbourhood, killing at least 19 people.

A Bangladesh air force training jet has crashed into a school campus, killing at least 19 people.

Here’s the latest we know:

What happened during the Bangladesh plane crash?

“Bangladesh Air Force’s F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed in Uttara. The aircraft took off at 13:06 [07:06 GMT],” the Bangladesh military’s public relations team said.

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Local media reported that the plane crashed at about 1:30pm.

Videos emerged of the aftermath of the crash, showing a fire, as well as plumes of thick smoke rising into the sky as people watched from a distance.

The crash marks the deadliest aviation incident in Bangladesh since the 1984 crash of a plane travelling from Chattogram to Dhaka killed all 49 people on board.

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Last month, an Air India passenger plane crashed into a medical college hostel in India’s Ahmedabad city, killing 241 of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. This incident marked the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Where did the plane crash?

The plane crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College, a private school in the northern Dhaka neighbourhood of Uttara.

Footage shared online after the crash showed the point where the aircraft had crashed into the side of a building, leaving a gaping hole.

At the time of the crash, students were taking tests or attending regular classes.

How big is this school?

According to the information available on the school’s website, there are 6,000 enrolled students at Milestones.

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What kind of plane was it?

The F-7 BGI is a light, “multi-role” fighter aircraft manufactured by the Chinese Chengdu Corporation.

Multi-role fighter aircraft are built to perform several “roles” in combat, including air-to-air combat, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, and suppression of air defences.

The BGI was billed as the most advanced F-7 when Bangladesh bought 36 of them in 2022.

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It had been upgraded according to Bangladesh’s specifications.

What do we know about the victims?

At least 19 people have died and more than 100 have been injured, based on data from multiple hospitals.

Authorities have not released details about those who have died or are injured.

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“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital,” Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, told the Reuters news agency.

What do the rescue efforts look like?

More than 50 people, including children, were admitted to the hospital with burn injuries following the crash, a doctor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery told reporters.

An emergency hotline has been set up at the institute, Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, wrote in a post on X.

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Local media reported that several of the injured were transported to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) through air force helicopters.

The army, air force, police and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a paramilitary border security force, are working together on rescue efforts, local media reported.

Eight units of the fire service are working to contain the fire, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

What is the latest situation on the ground?

Yunus said the government is taking all “necessary measures” in the aftermath of the crash.

He posted on his X account that the bodies of those who can be identified will be returned to their families as soon as possible.

Those whose identities cannot be immediately confirmed will undergo DNA testing, after which their remains will also be released to their families.

In another post, Yunus shared the emergency contacts of different rescue departments regarding missing school students.

Thirteen arrested in Balochistan province for alleged involvement in the killing of a couple ordered by a tribal leader.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 13 individuals, including a tribal leader, in connection with the killing of a couple in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

The arrests followed nationwide outrage over a video depicting the murders went viral on social media, with many calling it yet another case of “honour killing” – a phenomenon reported from across South Asia.

The first information report (FIR) filed by the police on Monday identifies the couple as Bano Bibi and her husband Ehsan Ullah, and says they were likely killed in May near Balochistan’s capital Quetta.

Honour killings, mainly reported from Pakistan and India, often arise from perceived family, tribal or caste dishonour, especially in love marriages, in which the two partners marry without the consent of their families or tribe, or elope. Many such killings go unreported.

Balochistan police official Syed Suboor Agha told Al Jazeera they are investigating the matter and are likely to make more arrests, including Bano’s brother, who is suspected of the murders and “is still at large”.

The viral videos of the killings show a group of armed men gathered around vehicles in a deserted area. Bano is ordered by the crowd to stand away from the vehicles as the couple is pumped with bullets, even on their motionless bodies lying bleeding on the sand.

The FIR names eight suspects while also listing 15 other unidentified suspects involved in the incident.

According to the FIR, the couple was allegedly brought before local tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Khan, who declared them guilty of engaging in an “immoral relationship” and ordered that they be killed.

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‘Tyranny of medieval practices’

Pakistan has a dismal record on “honour killings” and other forms of violence against women.

According to Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), an Islamabad-based independent organisation, more than 32,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide in 2024, including 547 instances of “honour killings” – 32 of them in Balochistan and only one resulting in conviction.

Harris Khalique, general secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the country’s leading rights watchdog, said the killings in the name of honour confirm the “tyranny of medieval practices” still entrenched in many parts of Pakistan.

“The state, instead of establishing the rule of law and ensure the right to life of its citizens, has protected the tribal chiefs and feudal lords who guard such practices to perpetuate their power over local people and resources,” Khalique told Al Jazeera.

Mineral-rich Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populous province, has also witnessed decades of conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from the country.

Rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch, also a member of a Baloch women’s rights group, said killing of women has become “a matter of routine” in the province.

“In Balochistan, women are murdered for love, disappeared for protest, and buried under layers of tribal authority and state-backed silence. These are not isolated tragedies. They are the cost of a system designed to keep Balochistan obedient, and its women expendable,” she told Al Jazeera.

Baloch said the government would not have acted on the murders had the video not gone viral.

“Baloch women are trapped between two forms of violence: the brutality of tribal patriarchy, and the cold repression of the state. One kills in silence, the other kills in the name of law,” she said.

“The state’s refusal to democratise Balochistan isn’t accidental. It is policy. By outsourcing governance to feudal strongmen, the state keeps the region controlled, its women disposable, and its dissent criminal.”

Pakistan police have arrested 11 people after a video of a couple being shot dead by a group of men in Balochistan went viral on social media. The video shows men leading the couple out of vehicles and into a desert before gunning them down with pistols and shooting their bodies.

According to a PTI report, political figures and activities have called the newlywed couple’s murder as “honour killing”, with the incident sparking outrage in the country.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Monday confirmed that 11 people have been arrested. They are suspected of being behind the “honour killing” of the couple, the report added.

What the video shows The graphic video shows about a dozen men surrounding several vehicles in a desert. A woman, with her head wrapped in a shawl, can be seen walking in front of the vehicles as a man follows her, watched by the group.

“You are only allowed to fire at me, nothing else,” she can be heard saying in Brahvi, a local language, before the man raises a pistol and shoots her at close range, a CNN report said.

The woman remains standing, before finally collapsing after the third shot is fired. More gunshots can be heard in the video after the woman collapses.

Another video shows the bloodied bodies of a man and woman lying side by side, the report added.

FIR filed after video surfaces A first information report (FIR) was registered by the Station House Officer Naveed Akhtar at Quetta’s Hanna-Urak police station, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Akhtar said he lodged the complaint after receiving the video clip that had gone viral on social media. He also said that upon investigation, his team discovered that the incident occurred three days before Eid-ul Azha.

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“The victims seen in the viral video have been identified as Bano Bibi and Ihsanullah,” the FIR said, naming eight suspects who allegedly shot the couple dead. The FIR also mentioned 15 other unknown suspects involved in the incident.

“Owing to the nature of the murder, the case has now been transferred to the Serious Crime Investigation Wing for further investigation,” the newspaper quoted Akhtar as saying.

Tribal leader declared it an ‘immoral relationship’ Prior to being killed, the victims were allegedly taken to a tribal leader, who declared them guilty of being involved in an ‘immoral relationship’ and ordered their execution, following which they were taken to the desert and shot dead, the FIR said.

“The murder was filmed and uploaded to social media to spread fear and panic among the public,” it added.

The men in the video were heard speaking the Brahui language, spoken in many parts of Balochistan.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called the suspects “beasts”, saying that they deserved no concessions.

Baloch activist Sammi Deen Baloch decried the shooting as an ‘honour’ killing, appealing to Baloch elders to “respect women’s decisions”.