A British woman of Pakistani origin, suspected to have been the victim of an “honour killing” inside her family home in Jhelum last month, had been suffocated according to a forensic report, police said on Wednesday.
Mukhtar Kazam, in a complaint to police, has said his wife Samia Shahid was murdered during a visit to her family on July 20. However, the victim’s father has denied the charge and claimed his daughter died of natural causes.
At an emotional press conference last week Kazam had presented a copy of a post-mortem report which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, suggesting she had been strangled.
Police said the latest forensic report had confirmed Samia died an unnatural death.
“The forensic report has been received by a three-member special investigation committee set up by chief minister Punjab and according to it Samia Shahid’s death occurred due to asphyxia,” Abubakar Khuda Bakhsh, the chief investigator, said.
The victim’s husband has described his wife’s death as an “honour killing”, a near daily occurrence in the country in which a relative is murdered by another for bringing what is deemed dishonour to the family.
Kazam and Samia, who was a dual British-Pakistani citizen, had been married for two years and were living in Dubai, police have said, adding that it was Samia’s second marriage.
Kazam has said his wife converted to Shia, his own sect, before their wedding, a move which had irked her parents.
Samia’s first husband Mohammad Shakeel, her parents and a cousin are being investigated, police have said.