Pakistan: Human Rights body condemns ‘honour’ killing of Awami Action Committee leader

Islamabad, Aug 1 The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the brutal ‘honour’ killing of Javed Naji, vice-chairman of the Awami Action Committee, along with a married woman in the Tangir district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).

The commission called the incident a gross violation of human rights and demanded immediate action from local authorities.

“That Naji was murdered in the presence of his mother and wife underscores the barbarity of the act. This marks the second such incident in Tangir within a week, with two women and two men killed in the name of ‘honour’,” the HRCP stated on Thursday.

The rights body demanded an immediate and transparent investigation, swift prosecution of the perpetrators and urgent action to dismantle the culture of impunity surrounding honour-based violence in PoGB.

Earlier this week, local media reported that the HRCP recorded at least 405 honour killings across the South Asian country in 2024, with most of the victims being women who were killed by relatives claiming to defend family honour.

Last month, a couple was shot dead on the orders of a local tribal council in Balochistan in a case of honour killing for marrying against the wishes of their families.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had received widespread condemnation for making shameful comments about the Baloch community after a video of the horrific act went viral on social media.

Asif had instead blamed the Balochs, stating that "the ones responsible for this oppression are your own brothers".

Baloch activists had termed Khawaja Asif's statement as a "matter of regret and shame", stating that the minister, instead of acknowledging the Sharif government's incompetence regarding the incident and holding their government accountable for such heinous events caused by state lawlessness, public distrust in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and the unchecked proliferation of weapons, is instead trying to shift the burden of its failures onto others.

Last week, dozens of civil society members and rights activists staged a protest in Quetta, demanding justice and an end to parallel justice systems.

In another incident, Sana Yousuf, a young and widely followed Pakistani social media influencer, was recently shot dead at her residence in Islamabad by a relative, triggering widespread outrage and renewed focus on the country's persistent issue of honour killings.

Local media reports said that the popular content creator, originally from Upper Chitral, was killed at close range by a male relative who had come to visit her. He fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

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