A 15-year-old girl, who was in eighth grade, was allegedly shot dead by her brother after attending the birthday party of a friend, local officials said Sunday.
Badakhshan police said the mother and brother of Chamman Gul were both arrested immediately after the incident.
The incident took place in Kishm district in Badakhshan after Chamman Gul returned home from the birthday party.
"The reason behind the killing of Chamman Gul was that she attended the birthday party of her friend and she reportedly danced there," said Zakir Aryan, a member of Badakhshan provincial council.
"We have started our investigations into the incident. We will find out who owned the gun (used in the shooting) and whether the girl had committed suicide or whether she had been killed by her brother," said Sakhidad Haidari, the crime investigation director in Badakhshan.
Meanwhile, Badakhshan Ulema (religious scholars) Council criticized the act, saying that the perpetrator should be punished in order to prevent such incidents from happening again.
"This [attending in a birthday party] is not a big sin. This teenage girl participated at the birthday party of her friend. Government should order capital punishment against the brother, who is the main suspect in the death of the teenage girl," said the head of the council Sadullah Abu Aman.
Reports indicate that Badakhshan often witnesses honor killings where women are the main victims, but according to Badakhshan residents, justice is not ensured in the majority of cases.