Qatar-returned woman killed for ‘honour’

Sources say father’s relatives carried out shooting while husband facilitated crime

RAWALPINDI:

A married woman was shot dead in what police describe as an ‘honour killing’ in the jurisdiction of Wah Cantt Police Station, in a case resembling the Pirwadhai jirga murder.
The victim was allegedly brought back to Pakistan from Qatar over suspicions of an ‘extramarital affair’ and was gunned down at her father’s house.

According to police, the shooters included close relatives of the victim’s father, while her husband and uncle — both reportedly residing in Qatar — allegedly issued instructions and facilitated the murder through phone and video calls.

City Police Officer Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani took notice of the incident, following which a case was registered on the police’s complaint, and a large-scale investigation was launched.

According to the FIR lodged by Sub-Inspector Asif Iqbal Khan, he was on patrol duty when information about the murder was received from the Lalazar area. Upon reaching the house of Aziz Muhammad, the police found that the victim, Samira Aziz, was being taken to the hospital in a private vehicle by her relatives.

At the scene, the victim’s sister, Sana Khan, told police that Samira had been living in Qatar with her husband and had returned to Pakistan a week earlier along with her uncles, Shaukat and Faisal. On the evening of the incident, Waleed, Israr and Sabir came to the house while their father, Aziz Muhammad and uncles, Shaukat and Faisa,l were present.

After sitting together and holding discussions for some time, all the men left the house.

Later that night, at around 10:20pm, there was a knock at the door. Sana and her sister Samira asked their aunt Saeeda not to open it. At that moment, uncle, Imtiaz called Saeeda from Qatar and told her to open the door, which she did.

Waleed and Israr, close relatives of the victim’s father, entered the house while Sabir remained at the door. Meanwhile, another relative, Suleman, made a video call from Qatar and instructed that Samira be brought to talk to Waleed and others. Samira was taken upstairs to a living room, where Sana also followed.

Sana stated that she heard Suleman instruct Saeeda to move her aside and allow them to “deal with” Samira. At that point, Waleed and Israr pulled out pistols and opened straight fire with the intent to kill.

Samira sustained multiple bullet injuries to the front of her body, collapsed, and died on the spot. The attackers fled the scene.

Uncles Shaukat and Faisal later returned and took the body to the hospital. According to the complainant, the motive behind the killing was that Samira’s husband, Suleman, had allegedly caught her talking to another man on the phone while in Qatar.

Police said that Waleed and Israr, in collusion with Saeeda and Sabir and on the instigation of Suleman, murdered Samira unlawfully. Wah Cantt police have registered a case under sections related to murder, honour killing, and abetment.

A senior police officer said that the victim’s uncle, Imtiaz and husband, Suleman, are currently abroad, while raids are being conducted to arrest Waleed, Israr and Sabir, who will be apprehended soon.