SC issues notices in Rawalpindi honour killing bail case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued notices to the accused in a Rawalpindi honour killing case involving a young woman who, according to the prosecution, was murdered after a jirga rejected her choice of marriage.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and comprising Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb took up an appeal filed by the Punjab Prosecution Department against an order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench, which had granted bail to members of the jirga, including Zafarullah and Rafaqat Mehmood, on February 9, 2026.

Appeal against bail

The case relates to the killing of Sidra in July 2025 in Fouji Colony, Pirwadhai, Rawalpindi. Zafarullah, who is the deceased woman’s brother, had sought post-arrest bail from the high court. The LHC granted relief on the basis that two other co-accused, Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan and Rashid Mehmood, had already been granted bail by the high court on October 30, 2025.

Earlier, an additional sessions judge in Rawalpindi had also granted bail to another accused, Sikandar, on December 10, 2025. The appeal before the apex court challenges the grant of bail and seeks its cancellation.

During the hearing, Additional Prosecutor Punjab Ahmad Raza Gillani told the court that the woman had been called back from Kashmir, where she had married Usman, and was later killed in front of her family on the decision of a jirga. He further informed the court that after the killing, funeral rites were carried out by female family members and the body was transported to a local graveyard in a loader rickshaw. The court was also told that grave markers were removed after the burial.

Case background

The matter arose from a first information report lodged on the application of Zia-ur Rehman, who stated that his wife had eloped with Usman and that he later came to know from local residents that she had contracted nikah with him.

According to the appeal, when the investigation team visited the site in Pirwadhai, it found that Sidra had been killed following a jirga decision. The appeal further said that the accused had first moved a post-arrest bail application before the additional sessions judge in Rawalpindi, which was dismissed on December 19, 2025. They then approached the high court, which granted bail.

The Punjab Prosecution Department argued before the Supreme Court that the accused were fully involved in the offence and did not have a merely peripheral role. It maintained that their presence at the scene was supported by witness statements and contended that the high court had exceeded its authority while granting post-arrest bail.

The appeal also stated that the high court had failed to appreciate that there was a prima facie arguable case in favour of the complainant, namely the State. It further described the accused as a desperate criminal and argued there was a strong possibility he could commit a similar offence if released or influence prosecution witnesses because of his alleged influence.

The prosecution also contended that the high court had not taken into account public sentiment surrounding the offence. It said the killing was pre-planned and that the accused had acted with common intention along with their co-accused.

Next hearing

After issuing notices to the accused, the Supreme Court adjourned further proceedings until the first week of June.

According to data cited from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, honour killings remained a serious issue across the country in 2024, with Sindh and Punjab recording particularly high numbers. From January to November that year, 346 people were reported to have fallen victim to honour crimes in Pakistan.