KARACHI: A tragic incident unfolded in the Gizri area of Karachi on Friday night when a woman and her teenage daughter were brutally stabbed to death in what police described as an honour-related killing. According to officials, the victims were identified as 43-year-old Kulsoom and her 11-year-old daughter Maryam, who lost their lives after being attacked inside their home.
Police said the suspect, Samiullah, who is Kulsoom’s husband and the father of the child, was immediately taken into custody. The South Deputy Inspector General of Police, Syed Asad Raza, confirmed that the suspect had confessed to the crime during initial interrogation. Authorities also recovered the knife used in the attack.
DIG Raza said the killings took place in a residence located near Noorani Masjid in the Gizri neighbourhood. Both victims were rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where doctors pronounced them dead upon arrival. A case has been registered against the suspect on the complaint of the victim’s brother, Faisal Khan.
According to police, preliminary investigations revealed that Samiullah had been arrested on another charge approximately two and a half months ago but was released on bail just three days prior to the double murder. Officials are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the attack.
Honour-based violence remains a persistent issue in Pakistan, particularly affecting women and young girls. Data released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) for the year 2024 showed that honour killings continued at an alarming rate. From January to November alone, 346 people were killed across Pakistan in such crimes, with Sindh and Punjab reporting the highest number of cases. Activists and rights groups have repeatedly called for stronger enforcement of laws and improved community awareness to curb these killings.
In a separate incident in Karachi the same night, one man was killed and another injured in a shooting in Lyari. Chakiwara Station House Officer Sajid Dharejo reported that two men were targeted in Bihar Colony. They were transported to the trauma centre at Civil Hospital Karachi, where 40-year-old Ahmed Wali succumbed to his injuries. The second victim, 28-year-old Kamran Husain, suffered a bullet wound to the leg and is reported to be in stable condition.
Police suspect personal enmity as a possible motive. Dharejo added that an FIR will be registered once the victims’ families reach out to authorities, after which formal investigations will proceed to determine the identities of the attackers and the reasons behind the assault.
