In Pakistan’s Balochistan province, a young couple was publicly executed in cold blood for committing what should never be a crime: falling in love and choosing to marry. In a barren desert under the scorching sun, a group of armed men gathered around the couple.
A woman stood alone, draped in a shawl, holding the Holy Qur’an in her hands — a sacred text she hoped would protect her from a fate written not by God but by brutal men. Moments later, she was shot dead, along with the man she loved.
This horrifying act of violence took place not in a war zone or under a rogue regime, but in the province of Balochistan, Pakistan — a country that claims to be a democratic Islamic republic.
What unfolded there was not “honor killing.” It was a public execution, an act of terror and tribal fascism committed in the open, with no intervention of the state.
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Islam, a religion of compassion and justice, explicitly condemns coercion in marriage. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) nullified forced marriages and emphasized the consent of women. The Qur’an itself states: “So do not prevent them from remarrying their husbands if they mutually agree in a just manner.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:232)
Yet in Balochistan, religion is not followed — it is hijacked by people like the ones who perpetrated the crime against the couple. Those who pulled the trigger did not act as believers. They acted as executioners in the name of ego and false pride, twisting Islam into a cloak for cultural savagery.
The irony is agonizing: the same Qur’an that forbids oppression was present in the girl’s hands, yet absent in the hearts of her killers.
This is not a one-off tragedy. Balochistan has become a recurring stage for unspeakable crimes — from beheading Punjabi laborers to stoning women and executing lovers. The region operates outside the constitutional framework of Pakistan, under parallel systems of tribal law, violent patriarchy, and ethnic extremism.
In many tribal communities, women are considered property — traded in disputes, silenced in oppression, and slaughtered in the name of so-called honor. These aren’t isolated incidents; they represent an entrenched culture of impunity, where murder is sanctified, and justice is a myth.
It raises a painful question: What is the value of a human life in these forgotten parts of the country?
Why is the law paralyzed when tribal leaders impose death sentences on young people simply for loving each other? Why are these warlords allowed to enforce medieval codes while the state claims sovereignty? This silence is complicity.
Let us be honest: if this had been a bomb blast or a political assassination, there would have been headlines, press conferences, and international outrage. But the victims here were not politicians. They were simply a man and a woman — stripped of dignity, stripped of rights, and finally, stripped of life.
What we are witnessing is gender apartheid. A system that punishes women for existing outside male control. A regime that teaches girls to fear love and punishes them with death for exercising their will.
It is time to call this what it is: gender-based terrorism.
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The image of a girl holding the Qur’an moments before her death should haunt the global conscience. It is not just a symbol of her faith — it is a cry for help. It tells the story of a region where faith is manipulated, justice is absent, and humanity has been buried under the weight of tribal misogyny.
That Qur’an she held contained verses of mercy, justice, and love. Yet it could not protect her from the bullets of those who never read it.
This brutal murder demands more than condemnation — it demands global action. Human rights organizations, religious leaders, women’s rights activists, and international media must amplify this story.
Balochistan must no longer be allowed to remain a sanctuary for medieval terror, where the cruel act as judge, jury and the executioner.
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