A young couple from North Waziristan Agency was shot dead in a Karachi neighbourhood on Monday for marrying of their free will.Khan Gul, 24, and his wife Shabeena, 22, were killed allegedly by the woman’s uncle and his son inside their house in Orangi Town early in the morning, said Mominabad SHO Sabir Khattak.The girl was married to her cousin Ikramullah in her childhood according to tribal customs. However, when she grew up she fell in love with another cousin, Gul. The first marriage was never consummated, though.Shabeena eloped with Gul from the tribal region and tied the knot five months ago. They came to Karachi over a month ago and had been living in a rented house since.On Monday morning, Ikramullah and his father barged into the couple’s house and opened fire at them. Shabeena and Gul were asleep but got up when the attackers broke open the iron door. The couple did not get time to take cover or put up resistance.“Though the accused father and son have fled but we will catch them soon,” said SHO Khattak. The victims and the alleged killers belong to the Mehsud tribe of North Waziristan.A case under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code has been registered against Ikramullah and his father on a complaint filed by the woman’s father, Mehboob Khan.According to the HRCP, more than 3,000 women have been killed in the name of honour between 2008 and 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2016.