A man arrested over the honour killing of his ex-wife is planning to return the UK with his new British spouse, Yahoo News UK reported.
Samia Shahid from Bradford, West Yorkshire, died in Pakistan in July 2016 after travelling to see her father, whom she was told was seriously ill. She was found dead in her cousin and ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel’s home in Punjab, Pakistan, six days after arrival - initially it was claimed she’d died of a heart attack, but a post-mortem examination confirmed she’d been strangled.
I have written to @ImranKhanPTI @PakPMO & @patel4witham seeking justice for #SamiaShahid 3 years after her brutal rape and murder, still no trail, no justice for this so called #HonourKilling all your support welcome @sayedzbukhari & @SMQureshiPTI @PakistaninUK #Justice4Samia pic.twitter.com/zwQexXhyvd
— Naz Shah MP (@NazShahBfd) July 27, 2019
Her second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazim, with whom she moved to Dubai after they married in 2014, says his wife was killed because her family disapproved of their marriage. Shakeel was arrested not long after for the alleged murder, but remains on bail. Police later claimed he confessed to strangling her, but confessions obtained while under arrest in Pakistan aren’t admissible in criminal proceedings.
Her family arranged for her to marry Shakeel in February 2012, in the Northern Punjab region, but she later obtained a divorce under Shariah law before marrying her true love Syed Mukhtar Kazim in Leeds. When she was informed her father was ill, her husband advised her not to return to Pakistan as he suspected it was a con designed to entrap her, as her family had expressed shame towards her for divorcing Shakeel, and rejected her new marriage.
Samia’s MP Naz Shah has now written to Pakistani President Imran Khan, calling the situation "very worrying and very alarming" and stating she hopes the Home Secretary will block Shakeel's entry to the UK.
"Samia was raped and murdered in an alleged honour crime three years ago…Mohammad Shakeel (ex-husband), who remains on bail for the rape and murder of Samia is seeking to enter the UK having married another British citizen…Whilst no justice has been provided and no trial has taken place, this news is extremely worrying and potentially dangerous,” she wrote.
She added "justice delayed is justice denied" and called for personal assurances from Khan there is no undue influence delaying the case.
Copies of the letter have also been sent toe Home Secretary Priti Patel and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urging them to press their counterparts in Pakistan.
