Ex-husband accused of murdering Brit beauty therapist in Pakistan ‘planning to return to UK with new bride’
A HUSBAND who was arrested over the honour killing of his ex-wife is planning to return the UK with his new British spouse, it has been reported.
Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford, West Yorks., died in Pakistan in July 2016 after travelling to see her father, whom she was told was seriously ill.
Muhammad Shakeel, who is her first cousin and currently out on bail, was arrested three years ago for the beauty therapist's alleged murder.
Police later said he confessed to strangling her, but confessions obtained while under arrest in Pakistan are not admissible in criminal proceedings.
The case still hasn't gone to trial three years later.
Ms Shahid's MP Naz Shah has now written to the leader of Pakistan after finding out the alleged killer might try to come back to the UK with his new wife.
She wrote it was a "very worrying and very alarming" situation and she hopes the Home Secretary would block Shakeel's entry to the UK.
Mr Shahid's family had arranged for her to marry Shakeel in February 2012, in the Northern Punjab region.
ARRANGED MARRIAGE
She later obtained a divorce under Shariah law, before marrying her true love Syed Mukhtar Kazim in Leeds, and moving to Dubai to live with him.
Ms Shahid was later told her father was gravely ill and flew to Islamabad.
This was against the advice of her second husband, who believed this was a trick because her family expressed shame towards her for divorcing Shakeel.
She was later found dead in her cousin's home in Punjab, Pakistan, six days after arriving.
Police in Pakistan launched a murder investigation after it was originally suggested Ms Shahid died of natural causes.
Mr Kazim claims his wife was murdered by her family because they rejected their marriage, which led to the arrest of her father Chaudhry Muhammad Shahid and Shakeel.
Jhelum police sent the pair to jail on remand.
In August 2016, police said Shakeel confessed to strangling his ex-wife.
Whilst no justice has been provided and no trial has taken place, this news is extremely worrying and potentially dangerous
MP Naz Shah
In her letter to Imran Khan, the Bradford politician wrote: "Samia was raped and murdered in an alleged honour crime three years ago.
"Despite the accused having spent two years in custody and subsequently being released on bail, the case has faced significant delay and sadly for the victim's husband the justice and closure that is desperately needed is being denied.
"I am further being led to believe that Mohammad Shakeel (ex-husband), who remains on bail for the rape and murder of Samia Shahid is seeking to enter the UK having married another British citizen.
"Whilst no justice has been provided and no trial has taken place, this news is extremely worrying and potentially dangerous."
She added "justice delayed is justice denied" and called for personal assurances from Mr Khan that there is no undue influence delaying this case.
The MP has sent copies of the letter to the Home Secretary Priti Patel and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urging them to press their counterparts in Pakistan.
Ms Shahid's family has always strongly denied any involvement in her death.
Shortly after she died, it emerged her body was found with a bruise on her neck.
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The original report from a post-mortem examination indicated there were no physical marks on her.
Her father was held as a suspected accessory to murder but released on bail.
He died in January 2018 in Pakistan.
What happened to Samia Shahid?
Samia Shahid, originally from Bradford, was killed while visiting relatives in Pakistan.
The 28-year-old beautician had allegedly received a phone call saying that her father was critically ill.
Samia was found dead in Punjab, Pakistan, on July 20, 2016, six days after landing in the country.
Initially it was claimed Samia had died of a heart attack, but a post-mortem examination confirmed she had been strangled.
Her second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazim, who she moved to Dubai with after they wed in 2014, says his wife was killed because her family disapproved of their marriage.
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