Mother of Slain woman defends alleged killers in shocking statement

QUETTA: A video statement by the mother of Bano, a woman who was killed in the name of honor in the Degari area of Quetta district of Balochistan, has surfaced, in which she has called her daughter’s murder a “punishment” and called it part of Balochi customs and traditions.

In the video statement, Bano’s mother claimed that her daughter was punished after the decision of a Balochi social jirga for her relationship with a boy.

She said that the boy used to make TikTok videos every day, which made her sons angry. She said that her daughter Bano was a mother of five children and her eldest son is 16 years old.

In the statement, the mother of the victim said, “Our people did not take any illegal decision; this decision was taken under Balochi customs and traditions.”

She added that Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai had no role in this decision, and the decision taken in the jirga was not with her but in the Balochi jirga.

She appealed that the arrested people, including Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, be released.

On the other hand, the arrested head of the Satakzai tribe, Sardar Sherbaz Khan Satakzai, had rejected the allegation while speaking to BBC Urdu over the phone before his arrest.

According to the report, he said that ‘no jirga was held under my leadership.’ He claimed that ‘people decided to kill both of them at the village level.’

The incident has sparked a strong reaction on human rights organizations and social media, where Bano’s murder is being described as another serious example of atrocities committed under the guise of “traditional honor.”