Father and ex-husband arrested over suspected honour killing of Brit beauty therapist in Pakistan
PAKISTANI police have arrested the father of a British beauty therapist killed in a suspected honour killing.
Mohammed Shahid, father of 28-year-old Samia Shahid, was arrested along with her ex-husband Chaudhry Shakil and her cousin Mobeen.
Local police chief Jehlum Mujahid Akbar admitted the death of Samia, from Bradford, was ‘not due to natural causes.’
Earlier today he had said: “How could I or my family kill her? She was our beloved daughter.
“If I am proved the killer I am ready to be hanged.”
He added: “I disapproved her marriage but we had now accepted it.
“We were even ready to welcome our son-in-law to our home.”
Samia, originally from Bradford, West Yorkshire, died visiting relatives in her ancestral Punjab village of Pandori on Wednesday.
She was buried in a village graveyard following an immediate post-mortem in which local police claimed to have found no visible injuries or signs of violence on her body.
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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to investigate the mysterious death and has agreed to exhume Samia’s body for tests.
His spokesman, Dr Musadik Malik, told The Sun: “The PM received a letter from British MP Naz Shah and has ordered the authorities to do whatever is necessary to find out the truth behind Samia Shahid’s death.
“The intelligence agencies have been asked to conduct secret investigations while her body could be exhumed for a second independent autopsy.
“The initial post-mortem looks dubious, although a final report is still awaited.
“The PM summoned the report, so far, of the alleged murder and finds the police report had been rushed and so was the burial.”
Samia's second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazam, believes his wife was murdered by family who disapproved of their marriage.
Her family told him she suffered a heart attack or an asthma attack.
But Mr Kazam, who married her at Leeds Town Hall in September 2014, said: “I am sure my wife is killed by the family.
"She was healthy and she had no disease.
“I believe she was killed because her parents were not happy with our marriage.”
Inspector Mohammad Aqeel Abbas, investigating the case, said he sent samples from the body to Pakistan’ top forensics lab in Lahore on Tuesday, adding there were no visible injuries or signs of struggle on her body.
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