A well-known TV and film actress, Khushboo, was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this week in the latest attack against female performers in a conservative region once famous for its Pashto language cinema called Pollywood.
Pollywood cinema, that was once thriving in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital, has been the target of extremists for the past decade. Female actors and singers in the region have become the target not only of the extremist who consider their profession against Islam but also their own family members as well.
At least 18 female actresses have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone over the past decade, says Waqar Ali Shah, a leading Pashto poet who chronicles the violence against artists. The latest murder was in the Nowshera district near Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to police officer Arishullah Khan, they received a call that a dead body was found around Akbar Pura Police Station jurisdiction. It was later affirmed that the body was indeed that of the well-known local actress Khushboo.
In an interview answering a question from Arab News PK, Khusboo’s brother alleged that his sister had been murdered by a local criminal and smuggler. She had accompanied him to a function on Monday, and barely some time after that, the suspect rang the family to come and collect her body.
Shehryar Khan said that Khushboo was found tortured, with pulled-out fingernails, having her hands tied from the back, before being strangulated and shot. The police said that complaints had been received about two individuals identified by the family, but no arrest has been made yet.
Rashed Khan, the president of KP Hunari Tolana, a welfare body of artists, condemned the killing and urged the government to take swift action. Rashed Khan has stated. “We demand the government take immediate action to arrest her killers.”
On this occasion, Waqar Ali Shah said the situation is highly critical for the artists, musicians, and singers here in the region. There is an overwhelming fear among performers of attacks from both militants and family members, he said.
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