Pakistan records 3,172 gender‑based violence cases in first half of 2026

A six‑month report compiled by the NGO Sahil documented 3,172 gender‑based violence incidents in Pakistan between January and June 2026. The tally includes 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries, 132 honour killings and 21 other offenses such as harassment, gang rape and pornography.

Seventy‑four percent of the cases were reported from Punjab, 17 % from Sindh, with the remaining incidents spread across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, the Islamabad Capital Territory and the disputed regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit‑Baltistan. Victims were most often aged 21‑30 (334) and 11‑20 (306); ages were missing in 71 % of reports. Perpetrators were acquaintances in 27 % of cases, strangers in 24 % and husbands in 13 %; 20 % were unspecified. Over half of the violence occurred in victims’ homes and 12 % at the perpetrators’ residences. Police registers logged 76 % of the cases.

On 5 July, Pakistan’s Human Rights Council staged a protest at the Karachi Press Club, demanding stronger law implementation, swift justice and better protection for women and transgender persons. The protest was attended by human‑rights defenders, women’s‑rights activists and civil‑society representatives from across the country.