A father in Pakistan has been arrested after allegedly killing his teenage daughter for posting what he deemed inappropriate videos on TikTok, police reported on Thursday.
The man, believed to be in his 50s, had recently returned with his family from the US to settle in Quetta, a city in southwest Pakistan, according to local police chief Babar Baloch.
The father, now in custody, admitted to shooting his daughter earlier this week after she refused to dress more modestly and stop sharing what the family considered “indecent” content on the social media platform. Police are investigating the incident as an honor killing.
Honor killings remain a significant issue in Pakistan, with approximately 1,000 women murdered each year by close family members such as fathers, brothers, or sons, under the guise of preserving family honor, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reports.
In many cases, perpetrators of honor killings avoid punishment due to a controversial Islamic legal provision allowing the victim’s relatives to forgive the killer. Although a 2016 law partially reformed this clause, it has not been enough to curb the practice, according to the HRCP and Amnesty International.
(dpa/NAN)