British-Pakistani woman murdered, confirms police

Samia Shahid was strangled to death, reveals forensic report

JHELUM: Police said on Wednesday that a British woman of Pakistani origin whose husband claims she was a victim of honour killing was suffocated to death.

According to her parents, Samia Shahid, 28, died of a cardiac arrest in her native village of Pandoori near Mangla dam on July 20. However, her second husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, said he believed his wife, who was visiting her relatives in Pakistan had been killed because her family disapproved of their marriage. He lodged a murder case against her parents, a sister, a cousin and former husband.

Dr Shaukat Mehmood, the medical superintendent of DHQ Jhelum, said the forensic report confirmed Samia had been murdered. The report clearly stated that her death was caused by suffocation, having been physically stopped from breathing, he added.

However, it has yet to be investigated who had strangled her. No arrests have been made in the case, police said, adding that her father, Muhammad Shahid, former husband, Chaudhry Shakeel, and a cousin, Mobin, have been interviewed by an investigation team comprising DIG Malik Abu Bakar, Punjab Constabulary, SP Khuda Baksh and SP Basheer Cheema.

“The forensic report has been received by a three-member special investigation committee set up by the Punjab chief minister, and according to it, Samia’s death occurred due to asphyxia,” Abu Bakar said.

Earlier the investigation team visited the crime scene to collect evidence. Three suspects of the case were called to Lahore where they were investigated by using modern techniques (polygraph). Police initially treated Saima’s death as unsuspicious.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2016.