LAHORE: A 28-year-old Pakistani-origin British woman, who was murdered for “honour” in Punjab province, was raped by her former husband before he and her father allegedly killed her, according to a medical report.
Samia Shahid, a resident of Dhok Pandori village, some 230 km from Lahore, had come to Pakistan from Dubai on July 15 to see her ailing father and was found dead on July 20. Her father had claimed she died of cardiac arrest.
British MP Naz Shah had written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, alerting him that it could be a case of “honour killing”. A high-level inquiry headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abu Bakar Khuda Bakhsh concluded that she was murdered.
Bakhsh has told Dawn newspaper that the forensic report “has confirmed rape and the DNA report of her former husband matched the sperm.
Samia’s former husband Shakil and her father Chaudhry Shahid are in police custody for her alleged murder.
Police sources have said Shakil confessed to strangling her to death as she married another man of her choice. Samia’s murder came over a week after social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her brother “for disgracing” their family honour. The incident sparked international uproar over increasing “honour killing” cases in Pakistan, forcing the government to announce introducing strict legislation against those involved in the case. A beauty therapist from Bradford, Samia divorced Shakil in May 2014. She then married Syed Mukhtar Kazim.
{{/usCountry}}Police sources have said Shakil confessed to strangling her to death as she married another man of her choice. Samia’s murder came over a week after social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her brother “for disgracing” their family honour. The incident sparked international uproar over increasing “honour killing” cases in Pakistan, forcing the government to announce introducing strict legislation against those involved in the case. A beauty therapist from Bradford, Samia divorced Shakil in May 2014. She then married Syed Mukhtar Kazim.
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