In a horrifying reminder of Pakistan’s deep-rooted patriarchy and distorted notions of honor, a young married couple, Sheetal and Zark, were executed in cold blood in Quetta’s Dagari area.
A video circulating online shows the couple surrounded by a group of armed men speaking Brahui. Seconds before the killing, Sheetal stood tall, veiled, unafraid, and said chillingly,
“Only shooting is allowed”
as if embracing death was her final act of resistance.
Authorities say the killing occurred around Eid ul Azha. The couple, married for two years, reportedly chose to marry for love, an act still seen as an unforgivable rebellion in many parts of Pakistan. Their marriage, instead of being protected as sacred, became a death sentence.
The murder, caught on video, sparked public outrage. Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered immediate action. A case was registered under anti-terrorism laws, and the Levies and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested 11 suspects including a tribal leader. More arrests are expected.
What’s more telling is that the case was not initiated by the victims’ families. Officials confirmed that “no one from the area, including the relatives or other people, submitted any application.” The government had to step in.
Sheetal and Zark were lured under false promises. Surrounded in a deserted area, they were slaughtered. Zark, was shot repeatedly, his body endured excrutiicating pain, his suffering drawn out, seemingly as a warning to other men.
Jirga: The Parallel Justice That Sanctions Murder
This killing was not spontaneous. It was sanctioned under a tribal Jirga, an informal wrinkled male-only council that continues to rule over people’s lives in many rural and tribal parts of Pakistan. Jirgas operate outside the formal legal system and routinely issue extrajudicial punishments in the name of tradition and honor. In this case, they sanctioned death for two consenting adults for the “crime” of love.
Though declared illegal by Pakistan’s Supreme Court in 2004 when used to settle criminal cases, Jirgas remain deeply entrenched. Their rulings often go unchallenged by law enforcement. They act with impunity, shielded by silence, tradition, and fear.
This was not an act of honor. This was collective murder dressed up in cultural tradition, upheld by silence, and weaponized by toxic masculinity who could not see a grown woman make her own choice. For such men, a woman is only fancied if she's tied up; mute, deaf and numb. A woman is best when married off as a child.
Let it sink in: they were legally married. They had not eloped in secret. They had not committed a crime. But they died because they dared to choose.
In Islamic history, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) approved the love marriage of his eldest daughter Zainab (RA) to her cousin Abu al-‘As ibn al-Rabi’ (RA). She married with dignity and with her father’s (SAW) blessing.
Those who claim to kill for religion distort its teachings. What they defend is not honor; it is power, control, and an unyielding hatred of women choosing for themselves. It's a twisted prespective of religion.
