A 19-year-old girl was shot dead by her paternal uncle and cousin in the Kharkai village of Lower Dir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), allegedly over an interaction with a male neighbour outside her residence.
The victim, identified as Karishma Bibi, was the only daughter of her parents. She had been residing with her uncle since the death of her mother during childbirth last year, while her father remains abroad employed as a labourer.
The fatal shooting occurred on June 26 in the mountainous and forested area, which falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the Khara Police Station.
According to police authorities, the girl’s uncle and his son carried out the attack after becoming enraged when they saw her conversing with a male neighbour.
Lower Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Captain (r) Bilal Farooq confirmed the operational response to the incident, stating that a police team, which included female officers, was immediately dispatched to the scene.
The body of the victim was subsequently transported to a medical facility for post-mortem examination.
Law enforcement officials have registered a FIR [First Information Report] based on a formal complaint lodged by the Station House Officer (SHO). The case has been filed under Section 302 for murder and Section 311 for honour killing under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Providing further technical details on the case, Superintendent of Police (SP) Investigation Rashid Khan confirmed that a comprehensive FIR had been successfully lodged.
He said forensic evidence collected from the crime scene included spent cartridges, confirming that the victim was shot with Kalashnikov bullets.
The police investigation has formally named the two suspects, identifying them as the victim’s paternal uncle and cousin.
While law enforcement personnel have successfully apprehended the cousin, identified as Gul Bahar, police are conducting active search operations to locate and arrest the second accused.
