Baloch tribal leader gets bail in one of most horrifying honour killing cases of Pakistan's history

The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Monday granted bail to tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, who had been arrested in connection with the Degari honour killing case, in which a couple was brutally murdered.

Justice Iqbal Kasi of the BHC approved the bail application and ordered Satakzai to submit surety bonds worth Rs500,000. The tribal leader had approached the high court after his bail was previously denied by a lower court.

The case drew widespread outrage after a disturbing video circulated on social media. The footage showed more than a dozen men gathered in a remote, mountainous desert area, with SUVs and pickup trucks parked nearby. In the video, a woman was ordered to face away from the group before a man shot her in the back. He then turned and fatally shot a man.

According to Police Surgeon Dr. Ayesha, the woman was shot seven times, and the man nine times.

Police allege the couple was killed on the orders of a local tribal jirga in the Degari area, located on the outskirts of Quetta, in what is being described as a case of "honour" killing.

Following the video's circulation, the Balochistan government registered a case under terrorism-related charges. Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the incident, calling it “heinous.”

Investigations revealed that members of the woman’s family were also allegedly involved. Her brother, Jalal Satakzai, was named as a prime suspect. A separate video surfaced showing the woman’s mother, Gul Jan, justifying the killings by referring to "Baloch tribal customs." She claimed that the tribal elders had not acted unlawfully and denied their involvement in ordering the killings.

The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including:

Section 302 (Murder)
Section 149 (Unlawful assembly)
Section 148 (Rioting while armed with a deadly weapon)
Section 147 (Rioting)

Additionally, charges have been filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.