On July 27, 2025, a brutal case of honour killing rocked Rawalpindi as police confirmed the arrest of all suspects involved in the murder of 19-year-old Sidra. The killing was carried out following a local jirga’s decision, marking yet another tragic chapter in extrajudicial violence justified through outdated customs.

Sidra, a young woman who had left her husband and remarried out of her own free will, was declared to have “lost her right to live” by a self-styled jirga in the Pirwadhai area. The jirga reportedly ordered her husband to carry out the murder, which he did by strangling her before quietly burying her without informing authorities.

Investigations later revealed that the jirga was convened by local community members to address what they deemed a violation of honour. The details of Sidra’s legal marriage and prior court testimony were ignored. Instead, a primitive verdict was issued, leading directly to her death.

The police launched an extensive crackdown, arresting nine individuals in total. These included the husband who carried out the murder, the man who arranged the jirga, family members involved in facilitating the act, the gravedigger, and even the rickshaw driver who transported her body. Authorities also placed the cemetery’s staff under scrutiny after it was discovered that her grave had been deliberately concealed.

A multi-agency investigation team was formed to gather technical evidence, review mobile data, and locate digital traces of communication between the accused. Authorities are now moving to invoke anti-terrorism laws, considering the organized nature of the act and the societal fear it perpetuates.

As part of the legal process, the court has ordered the exhumation of Sidra’s body to confirm the cause of death through a post-mortem examination. Strict security has been deployed at the cemetery, and arrangements have been made to preserve forensic integrity during the procedure.

Meanwhile, several suspects have been handed over to the police on physical remand. The investigation remains active as authorities prepare case files under murder, conspiracy, and terrorism clauses of the penal code.

This incident has triggered outrage across the country. Human rights activists have condemned the murder, stressing the urgent need to eliminate parallel justice systems such as jirgas, which continue to endanger lives especially those of women. There are renewed calls for full enforcement of existing laws criminalizing honour killings, and for ensuring that state institutions take a firm stand against all forms of gender-based violence.

The Rawalpindi bride murder has become a symbol of the critical flaws in rural justice practices and the danger they pose to personal freedom and women’s safety. As the legal process unfolds, all eyes are now on whether justice will prevail and whether the country will finally close the chapter on such barbaric traditions.