Initial findings suggest the victims were killed over suspicions of an alleged illicit relationship, police say.
2 suspects arrested for allegedly shooting dead two women and a man for ‘honour’ in Charsadda, KP
Two suspects were arrested for allegedly shooting dead two women and a man in an alleged honor killing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district, after they were accused of having an illicit relationship, police said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday in Matta Mughal Khel area, where, according to police, members of the victims’ family opened fire on the three, killing them on the spot.
Police responded to the scene after the incident, while the alleged attackers initially managed to flee. The bodies were detained and shifted to Shabqadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Read: A teenage girl allegedly killed for “honour” by her uncle and cousin in KP’s Lower Dir
Police spokesman Safiullah Khan said the victims were killed over suspicions of an alleged illicit relationship. He said an investigation had been launched and raids were being carried out at several places to arrest the suspects.
Charsadda district police officer Waqas Khan said initial findings suggested that the three murders appeared to have been carried out in the name of “honour”. He confirmed the arrest of two named suspects.
The DPO added that further investigation was underway and a first information report (FIR) was being registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 311 (of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The incident occurred on the same day police confirmed the murder of a 19-year-old woman who was allegedly shot dead by her uncle and cousin in the Lower Dir district after she was seen talking to a neighbor outside her home.
The woman was murdered on June 26 in the hill village of Kharkai, within the jurisdiction of Khar police station. Police said he was shot with a Kalashnikov and investigators recovered bullet casings from the crime scene.
Honor killings remain a serious and persistent human rights issue in Pakistan despite legal reforms and growing public awareness.
Read also: 405 honor killings recorded in Pakistan in 2024: HRCP
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that at least 405 so-called honor killings were recorded in Pakistan in 2024. In its annual report for 2025, the commission said the number had risen to 470. Most of the victims were women, often killed by family members who claimed to defend family honor.
Murders have been reported not only in Lower Dir but also in several other districts of the province, including Peshawar, Upper Dir, Swat and Charsadda.
According to KP police data obtained by The express PAkGazetteIn 2025, 160 cases of honor killings were reported across the province, compared to 159 cases in 2024. About 70 per cent of the victims in the 2024 cases were women.
Data shows that last year 374 people were named in honor killing cases, of which 258 were arrested. However, police said that except in a few cases, many suspects were later released after agreements were reached between the parties.
