In the scorching sands of Balochistan, where the desert bears witness to centuries of customs, two young souls, Zark and Sheetal were murdered for one simple act:

they chose to love. Their crime was not theft, not violence, not betrayal. Their crime was exercising a fundamental human right, to marry by choice. And for that, they were surrounded by a mob and executed in cold blood. Sheetal’s last words, “Only shooting is allowed,” are not just chilling; they are damning. Damning to a society that permits murder under the mask of tradition, to a culture that celebrates silence over dissent, and to every institution that stood idle while two human beings were reduced to lifeless bodies in the name of so-called honour. What is honour when it demands the blood of your daughters? What legacy is being protected when it silences the voices of the living? These questions are no longer rhetorical. They are urgent. They demand answers from every elder who values customs over compassion, from every leader who hides behind political inaction, and from every citizen who watches quietly from the sidelines. For how many more Sheetals must we bury before we say: Enough?

To the older generation, your children do not dishonour you by choosing love. They honour life by living it fully. Let them.

Honour killings are not rare. They are routine. Pakistan sees between 300 to 1000 such cases every year. The real number is likely higher, hidden behind tribal councils, buried in unmarked graves, or written off as domestic matters. And almost........

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