Postmortem report suggests Samia Shahid was strangled

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The postmortem report of British woman Samia Shahid, who was killed in Jhelum, revealed that her body showed signs of resistance.

Mukhtar Kazam at an emotional press conference presented a copy of the postmortem report into his wife Samia Shahid’s death, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck and suggested she had been strangled. He has branded her death as an honour killing.

“I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samia’s first husband Mohammad Shakeel is being investigated in the murder. In a statement recorded by the police he said that he had never divorced Samia, sources told media. He added that Samia had committed suicide.

In a complaint to police, he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20.

Shahid´s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of a heart attack.

Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jehlum Police Chief Mujahid Akbar.

The Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told.

The victims of honour killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year. They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting. But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action.

Last week the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate honour killings would soon be voted on by the parliament.

Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan.