Woman shot dead after jirga in honor killing near Tando Masti, Pakistan.

Woman shot dead after jirga in honor killing near Tando Masti, Pakistan.

NEWS:

Rubina Chandio, also known as Khalida, was shot dead near Tando Masti in Khairpur district, Sindh, Pakistan, after being labeled kari in what police have described as a karo-kari killing.

The killing took place in Batto Chandio village, also reported in some accounts as Butto or Bhutto Chandio village, within the limits of Tando Masti police station. The video published with this article records the fatal shooting itself. It shows the violent act happening and supports the central fact that the victim was shot dead. It does not, by itself, prove every claimed motive, every prior event, or the legal responsibility of each person later named in the case.

According to police statements and case details reported from the FIR, officers were on patrol in the early hours of April 10 when they received information near Faiz Wah stop that a woman was being assaulted over allegations of illicit relations. Police said they reached a location near a shop in the village and saw armed men and the woman under the light of a mobile phone.

The FIR identified the woman as Khalida, also known as Rubina, wife of Rashid Chandio. It named Qaisar Chandio, Pehlwan Chandio, Ghulam Abbas alias Baju Chandio, and Wali Muhammad Chandio among the suspects at the scene. According to the FIR account, Wali Muhammad allegedly declared her kari and ordered others to kill her. The FIR says police warned the suspects not to open fire, but three men allegedly fired pistols at the woman at about 00:3:30 a.m., killing her at the scene.

Police said the victim sustained a bullet wound to the chest and that empty pistol shells were recovered and sealed from the crime scene. The body was shifted to Civil Hospital Khairpur for a postmortem, according to the case account.

Police later said the killing had been filmed and circulated on social media. Senior police officials said the video showed the shooting and that the circulation of the footage led to raids at multiple locations. Authorities reported 18 arrests in connection with the case, including five named suspects and several people accused of being present at the scene or failing to intervene. Police also said the victim’s maternal uncle and grandfather were taken into custody with the alleged crime weapon.

The case was registered on behalf of the state under sections 302, 311 and 114 of the Pakistan Penal Code, according to the FIR details reported publicly. Section 302 concerns murder. Section 311 is relevant in cases treated as offenses committed in the name or pretext of honor. Section 114 concerns presence when an offense is committed after abetment.

Two suspects, Qaisar Chandio and Wali Mohammad Chandio, were later produced before a civil judge. Qaisar was sent to judicial custody, while Wali Mohammad was granted to police on four-day remand for further questioning. In a later reported development, police sources said Qaisar Chandio confessed to the murder, while Wali Chandio denied the charges. That reported confession should be treated as a case development, not as a final court conviction.

A district and sessions court also reportedly ordered the arrest of Naban Chandio, who was accused of announcing the jirga verdict that declared Khalida kari. A high-level committee was also formed in Khairpur to examine the killing, record statements and submit a report to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.

The killing exposed several disputes in the public record. Some accounts described Khalida as 19 years old, while other later accounts identified her as 22. Some reports described her as unmarried, while other case accounts identified her as the wife of Rashid Chandio. There are also spelling differences in the village name, appearing as Batto, Butto or Bhutto Chandio in different reports. Because those details differ, the core article relies on the confirmed location near Tando Masti, the victim’s public identification as Rubina Chandio alias Khalida, the police characterization of the case as karo-kari and the reported FIR account.

Khalida’s father, Muhammad Ramzan, later made serious allegations about the events preceding and following the murder. He claimed his daughter had been abducted by Saddam Chandio and later handed over to her maternal uncle through intermediaries. He also alleged that Salim Chandio incited the killing. The victim’s family further accused local police of misconduct, including allegations of bribe demands, influence over the FIR and mistreatment of the family. Those accusations were reported as claims by the family and were said to be under inquiry.

The killing drew immediate political and official reaction in Sindh. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Home Minister Zia Lanjar, the Sindh police chief and Member of the National Assembly Nafisa Shah took notice of the case and sought reports from senior police officials. Nafisa Shah condemned the killing and said decisions issued through jirga systems have no constitutional or legal status. She also called for action against those who recorded and circulated the video.

Civil society groups later gathered at Khalida’s grave in Tando Masti. Women’s rights activists said she had been denied ritual washing, a shroud and funeral prayers at the time of burial. A resistance sit-in was held at the grave, where activists offered prayers and demanded an impartial investigation, action against negligent police officials and special measures to fast-track honor killing cases.

The case reached Pakistan’s Senate in May, when lawmakers cited Rubina Chandio’s killing during debate over rising violence against women. Senators said she had been shot in front of a crowd and that the case became public after videos circulated on social media. The case was referred to the Senate Human Rights Committee for immediate scrutiny.

Karo-kari is a term used in parts of Pakistan for killings carried out over alleged damage to family or tribal honor. Police and lawmakers described Khalida’s death within that framework. Pakistan’s anti-honor killing law, passed in 2016, was designed to prevent killers in such cases from escaping punishment through family pardon, but lawmakers and rights groups continue to point to low conviction rates and weak enforcement.

Khalida’s killing is now part of a criminal case involving multiple suspects, a reported confession by one accused, remand proceedings, allegations against police, protest action by women’s groups and parliamentary scrutiny. The video confirms the fatal act. The remaining disputed elements, including the full sequence before the shooting, the role of each named suspect and the claims made by the victim’s family, remain tied to the criminal process and official inquiry.

News story written by DarkGore.