At least 20 people have so far been arrested by authorities in Balochistan over the brutal murder of a couple after a video showing the couple’s shooting went viral on social media.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said in a statement on the social media platform “X” that “more than 20 suspects have been arrested so far in the Degari incident.

“A key arrest has been made in Quetta where the police raided the Satakzai House and arrested Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, who is considered to be the main character in this incident,” the chief minister stated.

The couple, who contracted a free-will marriage about one and a half years ago, were allegedly killed by members of their tribe who deceived them by inviting them to a gathering and later killed them in a deserted area.

The video, which showed the murder of the couple in the name of honour, has shaken the entire country and triggered a debate on social media on women’s rights under Islam.

Sarfaraz Bugti said that the victims shown in the video have been identified and all those involved in the murder will be brought to justice.

He said that “the state stands with the oppressed and no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands.”

Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind told a press conference that the location of the incident and the whereabouts of the accused have been identified, and raids are underway.

He said: “This is a sad and inhumane incident, on which the government will not stay silent.”

The couple’s killing has sparked outrage on social media and people are asking whether these brutal killers will actually be punished or whether this too will remain buried in files like past incidents.

Human rights activists, civil society, and public figures in Balochistan are calling the incident a grave atrocity committed in the name of tribal honour, and are demanding that all perpetrators be publicly punished so that no one else dares to commit such atrocities in the future.