ATC extends tribal chief's physical remand in Quetta honour killing case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday extended the physical remand of tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai by 10 days in a case pertaining to the murder of a man and a woman for so-called honour in the Degari area on Quetta's outskirts.

The victims, identified as Bano Bibi and Ehsan Ullah, were shot to death on the orders of a local tribal jirga just days before Eid ul Azha. The case triggered outrage after a video showing the couple being shot surfaced on social media last week.

The police produced Sherbaz before the ATC on the completion of his previous two-day remand.

The investigation officer requested the court to extend the suspect's remand for further interrogation and to arrest absconding suspects.

The court approved the police’s request and handed him over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW) for ten more days.

Read more: Mother of slain Baloch woman justifies daughter’s killing

According to post-mortem reports of the victims, Bano Bibi was shot seven times and Ehsan Ullah nine times. The autopsies were conducted at the Dagari coal mine graveyard.

A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Hanna-Urak Police Station on the state’s complaint. The case includes charges under Sections 302 (murder), 149 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting while armed), and 147 (rioting) of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, in a press conference earlier this week, confirmed that 11 suspects had been arrested so far, with further operations underway to apprehend the remaining individuals. He stated that both victims were not married to each other and each had five to six children.