Death of Samia Shahid

Murder of Samia Shahid

Native name	سامعہ شاہد کا قتل
Date	June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20)
Venue	Pandori, Jhelum
Location	Punjab, Pakistan
Coordinates	33°6′0″N 73°37′0″E
Also known as	Samia Shahid murder case
Type	Honour killing
Cause	asphyxiation by strangulation
First reporter	Mukhtar Kazim
Deaths	Samia Shahid
Burial	Pandori, Jhelum, Pakistan
Accused	Shakeel Ahmed Muhammad Shahid Imtiaz Madhia
Convicted	Shakeel Ahmed Muhammad Shahid Aqeel Abbas Imtiaz Madhia
Charges	Murder Rape
Convictions	Murder Rape

Samia Shahid (1987–20 July 2016) was a Pakistani-British woman from Bradford who was raped and murdered at the age of 28 on 20 July 2016 in Punjab, Pakistan. Her ex-husband and father are the main suspects.

Personal background

Samia Shahid was a beautician by occupation. She was married to Shakeel Ahmed in February 2012 under duress in Jhelum, Pakistan, She divorced Shakeel Ahmed in 2014 in the United Kingdom. In the same year, Samia married a Dubai-based Shia Muslim man Mukhtar Kazim going against her family. After the marriage she also moved to Dubai.

Murder

Death

In July 2016, Samia Shahid was asked to visit the ancestral village in Punjab by her family as her father was critically ill. She was called 15 times by her family and was emotionally blackmail by her sister and mother. Samia's husband asked her not to go but she ignored him and went to Pakistan. According to the initial reports, Samia reached Pakistan on 14 July 2016 and was found dead in her ex-husband and cousin Shakeel Ahmed's house in Pandori, Jhelum on 20 July 2016, five days after landing at Islamabad airport. Samia's family told her husband Mukhtar Kazim that she has passed away. She was buried in her village in Jhelum.

Accusations by Mukhtar Kazim

After receiving the news of his wife's death, Mukhtar Kazim contacted the Government of Pakistan and made a complaint seeking a full investigation into his wife's death. He accused Samia's family for her death and said she was murdered by her family because they rejected their marriage. On the basis of his complaint, Samia's father Muhammad Shahid and Shakeel Ahmed were arrested by Jhelum police and were sent to jail on judicial remand. Muhammad Shahid told the police that her daughter died of heart attack and also claimed that she was married to Shakeel Ahmed. In response to his father-in-law, Kazim said that her wife had angered her parents by converting to his sect, Shia Islam before their wedding and that she was killed for honour. He also revealed the divorce and marriage contract papers of Samia. According to the documents, she had divorced Shakeel in 2014 and married Mukhtar Kazim in the same year. A Bradford-based maulana, Syed Muhammad Sibtain Kazmi who solemnized Samia and Kazim's marriage contract confirmed that Samia was divorced from Shakeel. In an interview to Geo News, he said: “Samia told me that she was forced to get into marriage with cousin Shakeel in Pakistan and she agreed for the marriage under duress.” Maulana also said that he can confirm that Saima told him under oath she loved Mukhtar Kazim. Earlier, the postmortem report suggested that Samia’s body showed signs of resistance.

Investigation

The Punjab Government constituted a team headed by DIG Abubakar Khuda Bakhsh. The team began investigation the case. The SHO Aqeel Abbas who reached on the scene was arrested on 2 September 2016 for showing carelessness in handling the case. Abbas ignored the signs of strangling on Saima's neck. He is cousin of victim's father. Police also accused Samia's mother Imtiaz Bibi and sister Madhia for being abetter however they moved to United Kingdom after her murder.

Confession and police report

On 14 August 2016, police revealed that Shakeel has confessed the murder as he appeared in the Jhelum court alongside victim's father on 12 August 2016. The head of investigation team DIG Abu Bakar Buksh told the media: “We have completed our investigation and concluded that her ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel and father Muhammad Shahid were involved in her killing. Her ex-husband has also been charged with raping her,” The police revealed 43-page police report. According to the report, a day before reaching Islamabad, Samia sent a text message to her friend named Laila saying that she was in fear for her life.

“Pray I come bk alive on 21jul my psyco cuzzan u see”

— Text message sent by Samia Shahid to her friend Laila

The police report concluded that after arriving in Punjab her first husband Shakeel was told to watch Samia by her father. When Samia refused to tell Shakeel about her passport and plane ticket, he threw her on the bed and raped her. Samia then managed to run out of the room and told Shahid that she would go to the British High Commission. Her father Mohammed Shahid was standing on the stairs where she told her that she was leaving. Shahid then gave Shakeel a indication and he strangled 28 years old Samia with her scarf while Shahid held her legs. It was also revealed that Shakeel was disappointed because Samia divorced her and his chances of moving to the United Kingdom and becoming a British citizen were finished. The police also said that Shahid could have pardoned his nephew if he had been charged with Samia's murder under The Diyya law of Pakistan. It was also disclosed Shakeel had a criminal record and had been charged in 2010 with attempted murder.

Legal proceedings

Pre-trial court proceedings

In September 2016, Muhammad Shahid submitted an application in the court for getting bail. The application of bail was rejected for Shahid however the bail was granted to SHO Aqeel Abbas on 10 September 2016. The lawyer of Muhammad Shahid, Mian Muhammad Arif said that he will take the appeal to a higher court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.