On 20 July 2016, Samia Shahid, a 28-year-old
British Pakistani
British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are British people, citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes ...
woman, was found dead in
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
. Although involved in a dispute with her family, she had travelled to Pakistan alone as she had been told that her father was critically ill. Relatives claimed that she had died of
natural causes, whereas her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazim, believed that she had been murdered in a so-called "
honour killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
"; an autopsy and forensic examination concluded that she had been raped and strangled.
Her former husband, Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel, was arrested on suspicion of her murder and while in custody allegedly confessed to drugging and strangling his ex-wife.
Samia's father was held on suspicion of being an accessory to murder,
he was released on
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countrie ...
in December 2016
and died in January 2018.
As of 2020, the case against Shakeel remains untried.
Background
Described as "a jolly, bubbly person, (who) always had a smile on her face", Samia Shahid was from
Manningham, Bradford. She attended
Nab Wood School and went on to work in a variety of sales roles while doing make-up artistry as a hobby.
In 2012, Samia was married to her cousin, Shakeel, in a match
arranged
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...
by their parents. The wedding was celebrated in Pakistan, where most members of the family reside, and the wedding photographs show a beaming and apparently happy bride. Following the wedding, Samia returned to live in Bradford, while her husband remained in Pakistan, pending the processing of his immigration papers. In 2013, Samia met Syed Mukhtar Kazim and they fell in love with each other. In 2014, she
converted from the Sunni sect to the Shia sect of Islam and obtained an ''ex-parte'' divorce from Shakeel from the
Islamic Sharia Council of UK (which has no legal authority in the UK).
Shortly afterwards, she married Kazim in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
and moved to
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
with him.
Samia's family did not approve of these actions. They asserted that her divorce was not valid since the
Islamic Sharia Council
The Islamic Sharia Council (ISC) is a British organisation that provides legal rulings and advice to Muslims in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic Sharia based on the four Sunni schools of thought. It primarily handles cases of marriage ...
has no legal authority either in the UK or in Pakistan. Therefore, they said, she was still legally married to Shakeel, and her so-called second marriage was a "sham" amounting to adultery.
Kazim claimed that Samia had been threatened by her family over their relationship and
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.
History
West Yor ...
confirmed that she had been subjected to (verbal) harassment by at least one family member (her mother) before she moved to Dubai.
Immediately after she moved to Dubai, Samia's parents reported her as a missing person to the local police, rather than accepting that she was living life on her own terms.
The police opened a missing person investigation, and contacted, among others, the Shia cleric from the
Islamic Sharia Council of UK who had issued an ''ex-parte'' divorce. That Shia cleric later claimed that he was abused on the phone by her family members,
and passed on a recording of these abuses to the Police in 2014.
On a visit to Bradford in 2015, Samia attended a meeting with family members accompanied by a police chaperone; the meeting was fraught and an official warning for verbal harassment was issued to one of her relatives (her mother) as a result.
Death
In July 2016, Samia received a telephone call claiming that her father was critically ill in Pakistan. She flew to
Islamabad airport
Islamabad International Airport () is the international airport serving Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. It is located south-west of the city, and is accessed via Srinagar Highway.
The airport commenced full operations in 6 May 201 ...
against the advice of Syed Mukhtar Kazim, her "second husband," who believed that the claims were untrue. He stated “Obviously, I could see it was a lie.” He was worried about her safety and begged her not to go.
The day before Samia was due to return home to Dubai, Kazim stated that the "constant stream of instant messages" she'd been sending suddenly ceased.
Samia was found dead in her cousin's home on 20 July 2016.
Initially there were conflicting reports on the cause of Samia's death. According to Kazim, her cousin Mobeen told him over the telephone that she'd died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
. Local press agencies reported that Samia had committed
suicide as a result of depression over not having children, a report which her family denied. Kazim maintained that Samia had been murdered by her family in an "honour" killing because they rejected her second marriage.
Samia's uncle, Haq Nawaz, obtained a death certificate from the "local union council", told Police that she'd died of "natural causes"
and had her remains buried the same day.
Investigating police officer, Aqeel Abbas, told ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that there were "no signs of external physical injury" to Samia's body.
The autopsy, however, noted bruising around her neck
and that, along with the forensic examination, concluded that she'd been raped and strangled.
Investigation
Fearing "a potential cover-up", Samia's constituency
MP,
Naz Shah, wrote to Pakistani authorities and also spoke to
Syed Ibne Abbas, then Pakistan's
High commissioner to the United Kingdom. Shah stated: “I have asked for the police officer and the physician who did the first postmortem to be investigated.”
Following Shah's intervention, two Bradford-based individuals
were arrested over alleged threats made towards her.
On the basis of Kazim's allegations, and following the intervention of Shah, an in-depth investigation was ordered and the chief minister of Punjab arranged a "special committee" of leading police officers to prepare a report.
Subsequently, the original lead investigator, Abbas, was suspended from duty for "mishandling" the case and for allowing Samia's mother and sister to leave Pakistan
and then arrested for "concealing evidence".
Samia's uncle, Nawaz, having allegedly obtained the death certificate before the forensic examination had concluded,
was arrested on suspicion of falsifying medical files.
Samia's father, Muhammad Shahid, and ex-husband, Shakeel, were arrested by Jhelum police and held on
remand.
On 14 August 2016, police stated that Shakeel confessed to strangling Samia.
Police report
Abubakar Buksh, the
Deputy Inspector General of Police
A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
India
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a rank ...
, led the fresh investigation which alleged, in conclusion, that Samia's death was a “premeditated and cold-blooded honour killing”.
He stated: "We have completed our investigation and concluded that her ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel and father Muhammad Shahid were involved in her
killing."
Buksh also stated that Shakeel had been charged with raping her.
According to the report, a day before reaching
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
, Samia sent a
text message
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
to her friend saying that she was in fear for her life.
Upon arrival, she had a childhood friend - as opposed to her family - collect her from the airport, leaving her passport and return ticket with them for security.
The report claimed that Samia's father and ex-husband wanted her to stay in Pakistan and renounce her second marriage. On the day before she was due to leave, Shakeel demanded her passport and plane ticket and, when she refused, he attacked her. She managed to run out of the room, telling him that she would go to the British authorities, at which point he allegedly strangled her with her
scarf
A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...
while Shahid held her legs.
It was further claimed that Shakeel was angry with Samia because the divorce impeded his chance of moving to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and becoming a British citizen and that Shahid intended to
pardon his nephew if he had been charged with Samia's murder under
the Diyya law of Pakistan.
Legal proceedings
Pre-trial court proceedings and death of father
Muhammad Shahid was held in custody from July 2016 until being granted bail by
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...
in December 2016; the court deemed that the evidence presented was insufficient to justify holding him on remand.
He died in a Lahore hospital in January 2018 at the age of 52.
Abbas and Hawaz were bailed on payment of a
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
in September 2016.
In October 2016, arrest warrants were issued for Samia's mother and sister and Pakistani authorities declared them "proclaimed offenders".
In, or around, September 2018, Shakeel was released on bail.
Although reportedly admitting strangling Samia, confessions given to police are not admissible as evidence in Pakistan.
On 25 July 2020, in the absence of visible progress,
Naz Shah wrote to the
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...
,
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
, asking for ‘justice to finally be served’ in Samia's case.
Other legal proceedings
In August 2016, members of Samia's family in Pakistan sought criminal charges against Samia and Syed Kazam, accusing them of
polyandry
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives ...
; it was claimed that documents had been forged, and Samia's ex-husband had been impersonated, in order for them to get married in the United Kingdom. They wanted Kazam, and others, to be charged with "impersonation, fraud, and fornication".
Calling it an "attempt to derail" the murder trial, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' quoted the family's lawyer as stating: "“In the witness box, if he comes and testifies, it will be very easy for us as defence counsels to shackle the credibility of that witness. If we show he was lying in one context he may not be believed in another context.” He added that the family hoped that seeking criminal charges would stop Kazam from returning to Pakistan to give evidence. A case was registered on 16 November 2016 citing fraud and forgery.
In September 2016, the BBC reported that a complaint of
bigamy
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
had earlier been made to West Yorkshire Police; the resultant report ascertained that Samia's divorce from Shakeel was not valid in the United Kingdom. It was claimed that Samia had presented herself as single when registering her second marriage and hadn't mentioned her previous marriage and divorce. West Yorkshire Police stated: “with the death of Samia it is not in the public interest to pursue this inquiry as the alleged Bigamist cannot be spoken to or brought to trial should it have progressed that far and the Crown Prosecution Service has also stated that there was no case to answer as the subject of bigamy is deceased.” In response Gujrat jurist, Chaudhary Latif Langrial, said that the report wouldn't have any effect on the murder trial, or change the status of Kazam; adding that Samia's alleged "false statement of being single" wouldn't exculpate anyone involved in her murder.
In March 2017, members of Samia's family presented a petition to Lahore High Court seeking to stop the release of a documentary about her murder and the ensuing legal action. The petition was dismissed.
BBC documentary
On 21 February 2018, the documentary ''Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid'' was screened on
BBC Two. Produced and directed by Sasha Achilli, it draws on interviews with some of Samia's closest friends, her second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazim, Naz Shah and some of those involved in the murder investigation in Pakistan. Writing in
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
, James Jackson, said the documentary was "loaded with unequivocal anger" and served as a reminder that "there are those in this world who think that it’s somehow honourable for a man to rape his wife and to murder her, but not for that wife to have had a thought for herself regarding her romantic life".
See also
*
Honour killing in Pakistan
Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as ''karo-kari'' ( ur, ). Pakistan currently have the top number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about 1/5 of the world's honour killings are comm ...
*
2012 Kohistan video case
*
Murder of Farzana Parveen Farzana Parveen Iqbal was killed on 27 May 2014 outside a court in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Her father, two brothers and former fiancé were among the nearly twenty attackers. Farzana, who had eloped with a man of her own choice, and was pregnant ...
*
Samia Sarwar
Samia Sarwar (1970 – 6 April 1999) was a Pakistani woman, who was shot dead in her lawyers' office in Lahore in an "honour killing."
Samia Sarwar was a married woman with two children, belonging to an affluent family of Peshawar. She claimed to ...
*
Ayman Udas
*
Qandeel Baloch
Fouzia Azeem ( ur, ; 1 March 1990 – 15 July 2016), known by her stage name Qandeel Baloch ( ur, ), was a Pakistani model, actress, social media celebrity and activist. She was the country's first social media celebrity. Azeem rose to promi ...
External links
Documentary: Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahid, Samia
2016 deaths
2016 murders in Pakistan
British people of Pakistani descent
Deaths by person in Pakistan
English people murdered abroad
Honor killing victims
Honour killing in Pakistan
People murdered in Pakistan
Rape in Pakistan
Violence against women in Pakistan