Pakistan, July 27 -- Just when you think this country cannot surprise you anymore, it does. Just when you begin to believe you've grown numb to horror, a new one claws its way into the public eye, and proves you wrong. The recent video of Banu Bibi and Ahsanullah, shot dead in Balochistan for the crime of love, forces us once again to look into the abyss we've normalized. A country obsessed with honour, it seems, cannot protect its own.

Thirteen suspects were arrested after the footage emerged. The young couple had married of their own free will, against the will of their families, and paid the ultimate price. Their execution, filmed and distributed like a grotesque warning, wasn't just a murder. It was a ritual, sanctioned by tribal cod...