British court imprisons Pakistani man for stabbing wife 15 times over learning English

Judge says Nazakhat Ali is a 'dangerous man' who used a lethal weapon repeatedly on a defenceless woman, his own...

A Pakistani man who stabbed his wife 15 times because she wanted to take English lessons has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Nazakat Ali, 30, a resident of Rochdale, England, stabbed his wife Shahzana Kausar 15 times during an argument over her desire to to enroll at a college to study English, according to the Daily Mail.

The Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday heard how Ali grabbed a knife and in front of his own mother, stabbed his 27-year-old wife refusing to accept that she wanted to gain a 'degree of independence'.

Following the attack on September 29 last year, Ali fled the scene and turned himself in the day after the attack.

Shahzana was flown to a hospital and was treated for wounds in her neck, collarbone, abdomen, ribs and a severed artery.

The 27-year-old has since started to recover from her injuries but is still undergoing surgical treatment.

Further, she said she had contemplated self-harm as a result of the attack and that the incident had changed her life significantly.

The couple, who tied the knot in Pakistan in 2005, had known each other for 16 years and moved to the UK in 2008.

Prosecutor Mark Kellet told the court, “When the defendant and Shahzana were upstairs in their bedroom, he became angry and started shouting and slapped her across the head. She asked for her mobile phone so she could contact her sister or the police, but he refused to return it.”

“She left the house to walk to her sister's address but was followed by the defendant. She asked for help from a bystander but the defendant apologised and they returned home. Once they had returned home they sat in the kitchen with the defendant's mother,” the prosecutor added.

Further, the court was told Shahzana told Ali if he were to behave in a similar manner again, she would leave him.

“He became angry and punched her, knocking her to the floor. He picked up a knife from a kitchen drawer and repeatedly stabbed her.”

Further, Ali's mother in a statement to the court said the couple had been abusive towards each other and Ali had stabbed his wife when she ran at him.

Ali was also convicted in 2009 for his part in a burglary in which he and an accomplice forced their way into a family home, gagged a 40-year-old woman and threatened her and her baby with a screwdriver.

Defence lawyer Ian Harris, however, said: “His family have told me that when they visited the defendant he has been in tears when he has discussed what he did.”

“It is a case of loss of temper. An intent to kill formed in the heat of the moment. The incident itself would have taken a matter of seconds,” he said.

However, labelling Ali a ‘dangerous man,’ the judge said, 'The attack was sustained and repeated. There was extensive life-threatening internal injuries. You took a lethal bladed weapon and used it repeatedly on a defenceless woman -- your own wife in her own home.”

'You are, in my judgment, a dangerous man. I am unhesitatingly of the opinion there is a significant risk of serious harm from future offences committed by you.”

Following the sentencing, detective sergeant Louise Ashurst described the attempted murder as one of the most brutal and horrific attacks she has experienced.

“The injuries she suffered were so severe that the first officer on the scene thought she was dead, her defensive injuries showed that he stabbed her with such force that the knife went right through her hand, breaking her forefinger.”

“But the victim was strong and brave, and I hope this sentence goes some way to helping her overcome what has happened,” she added.