Pakistan, Sept. 13 -- Four men arrested for allegedly gang-raping two women in Peshawar are dead before a court could determine their guilt. Police say unidentified gunmen attacked the party taking them to the crime scene on Friday. The men had been arrested after two women told police that armed intruders entered their rented home in Garhi Mosa Khan, tied up family members and sexually assaulted them at gunpoint.

The circumstances of Friday's shooting will require investigation. The more immediate consequence is that another serious sexual-violence case has been pushed outside the normal course of justice before it could reach trial.

There was much about the initial police response in Peshawar that deserved notice. Four investigation t...