A 21-year-old Christian woman has been shot dead inside her home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, with her family alleging that a Muslim neighbour killed her after she rejected his advances.
Saba Mehboob was shot in the forehead at around 9pm on Thursday, 3 September, in the Dhoke Ratta area, according to her brother Joshua Mehboob. He said the alleged attacker, Adnan Butt, entered the family home carrying a pistol and accused Saba of dishonouring him.
Saba, who had been separated from her husband for more than a year, was reportedly with her 16-year-old stepbrother Anoosh and two paternal uncles, Michael and Nomi, when Butt entered the room with her. According to the family, he ordered the men to leave at gunpoint and repeatedly slapped Saba before shooting her.
“She had rejected him, and I believe that rejection fuelled his anger,” Joshua Mehboob told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
The family further alleges that Butt and another man then took Anoosh away on a motorcycle. The teenager was reportedly taken to the home of Butt’s brother-in-law, where other people were present, and was threatened with death if he told police who had killed his sister.
According to Joshua Mehboob, the teenager was also pressured to confess to Saba’s murder. Anoosh was allegedly held until about 5pm the following day, while his father and other relatives were also threatened with death if they reported the killing.
The teenager was eventually released after relatives agreed not to lodge a police complaint, the family said. He later accompanied relatives to the district headquarters hospital to collect Saba’s body.
Police arrived at the hospital and recorded Anoosh’s account. After hearing his statement, officers reportedly asked him to become the complainant in the case. According to his family, police then placed Anoosh and his father in protective custody.
A First Information Report was subsequently registered against Butt. However, Joshua Mehboob said the suspect later secured pre-arrest bail from a court.
The family has alleged that Butt had previously harassed and threatened Saba. Joshua said she had twice slapped him after he blocked her path in a market.
Saba’s death led to a protest in Dhoke Ratta, where Christian and Muslim residents reportedly called for the suspect to be arrested.
Rawalpindi journalist Tariq Chaman said relatives and local residents had also raised concerns about the treatment of Anoosh. Some alleged that police were pressuring the teenager to accept responsibility for his sister’s death.
Police have denied that allegation, Chaman said, explaining that Anoosh is being held for his own protection because he is a minor. His father has also reportedly been kept with him.
The family and community elders are calling for both father and son to be released and for the investigation to be moved from Dhoke Ratta police station to a senior police officer. Chaman said additional details could emerge during the investigation and potentially influence the course of the murder inquiry.
Local sources have also alleged that Butt and members of his family have criminal backgrounds and that pressure could be placed on Saba’s relatives to abandon the case. These claims have not been independently established.
Joshua said Saba was one of five children born to his mother during her first marriage to Mehboob Masih. Following Masih’s death, their mother married Yaqoob Masih and had five further children, including Anoosh.
Saba married Zeeshan Mehmood around six years ago. According to her family, she left the marriage more than a year ago because of his serious drug addiction and returned to her mother’s home in Dhoke Ratta with her two daughters.
The killing comes amid longstanding concerns raised by rights organisations about the vulnerability of religious minorities in Pakistan. Human rights groups have documented cases involving forced conversion, sexual violence, blasphemy allegations and pressure on minority families to settle disputes outside the formal justice system.
Open Doors placed Pakistan eighth on its 2026 World Watch List, citing systemic discrimination, mob violence, forced conversion and weaknesses in law enforcement among the factors contributing to the difficulties faced by Christians in the country.
Based on reporting by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
