An 18-year-old newly married woman was allegedly shot dead by her brother in Karachi’s Orangi Town after marrying a man of her choice, according to police and a report by Dawn.
Mominabad SHO Shahbaz Yusuf said the woman, identified as Zarqa Bibi, had married around three weeks ago and had been living with her husband.
According to police, Zarqa’s family traced her and persuaded her to return to her parents’ home for a formal wedding ceremony. She returned on Sunday night, after which her brother allegedly shot her and fled.
Police identified the suspect as Safeer Khan and said raids were being conducted to arrest him. Zarqa’s body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
The incident has renewed concerns over violence against women in Pakistan, particularly cases involving alleged killings linked to family or so-called “honour” disputes.
A report cited by Samaa TV said 132 people were killed in so-called honour killings during the first half of 2026. The same report said courts dealt with 3,172 new violence-related cases between January and June, including 644 murder and 462 kidnapping cases.
The Karachi case comes amid continued calls for stronger measures to protect women from gender-based and family-related violence.