Two men were shot dead while a third was injured in what police described as an ‘honour’ killing in Karachi’s Ittehad Town on Wednesday, while in a separate incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a young man was also killed for the same reason, according to a first information report (FIR).

In Karachi, Deputy Inspector General South, Syed Asad Raza, told Dawn.com that the incident occurred around 4am at a house near Khyber Chowk in the Ittehad Town neighbourhood. Two brothers and a nephew of a woman’s former husband allegedly scaled the boundary wall of her home.

“The woman’s current husband and the intruders exchanged gunfire,” he said, adding that the husband was fatally shot.

“The nephew was also killed in the shootout, while the current husband’s brother was injured,” DIG Raza added. “The two other suspects fled the scene.”

During the initial probe, the police discovered that the deceased man had married a woman from the Tank district in KP. The couple was living in a rented house at Khyber Chowk in Ittehad Town.

According to the DIG, police recovered 22 spent bullet casings, a 30-bore pistol and two mobile phones from the crime scene.

“Both the [deceased] husband’s injured brother and the woman have been taken into custody for interrogation,” he added, stating that the bodies and the injured were transported to Civil Hospital Karachi.

Ittehad Town Police Station House Officer Rao Shabbir said that the woman had married the deceased three months ago, adding that the double murder appeared to be a case of ‘honour’ killing.

Meanwhile, in another incident, it emerged on Wednesday that a young man had been gunned down in KP’s Martung tehsil on June 15, also in the name of ‘honour’.

Puran circle sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Usman Munir, told Dawn.com that the incident occurred in the Kotkay area, where a 17-year-old boy was killed.

“The victim’s father stated in the FIR that his son was shot dead in their home,” Munir said.

In the FIR, which is available with Dawn.com, the victim’s father identified his son’s alleged attacker.

“A girl from the suspect’s family had left her house with my son,” the complainant alleged. “Since then, the girl’s family had been searching for him.”

In response to a question, SDPO Munir said that the girl was sent to Darul Aman after the incident, as her safety was also at risk.

“Some of the suspects have been arrested, but the main suspect is still at large,” he told Dawn.com. “However, police parties are conducting raids to arrest him.”

When asked about whether the incident was an ‘honour’ killing, the SDPO said that the FIR was initially registered under Sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“Later in the investigation, Section 311 (discretionary punishment) can be added for the honour killing,” Munir said.

In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.

Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.

The previous two years also saw a consistent rise in murders related to the so-called ‘honour’.