BRADFORD West MP Naz Shah has written to Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, calling for ‘justice to finally be served’ on the fourth anniversary of the death of Samia Shahid.
Ms Shahid, 28, from Oak Lane, Manningham, died in Pakistan in July 2016 after travelling to visit her father, whom she had been told was seriously ill.
Pakistan Police launched a murder investigation, after it was originally suggested Ms Shahid had died of natural causes.
This week marks the 4th anniversary of the murder of my constituent Samia Shahid. I have written out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan @ImranKhanPTI, calling on his government to take this case forward as a complainant so justice can finally be served. pic.twitter.com/zs3iPrWcsp
— Naz Shah MP (@NazShahBfd) July 26, 2020
In the letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ms Shah MP wrote: “Justice delayed is justice denied and sadly for the victim’s husband there has been no justice and no closure.
“Samia’s husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, who submitted the original FIR is not resident in Pakistan which has been sighted as one of the hindrances for achieving justice for Samia.
“To this end, I am writing to ask that the Government of Pakistan pursue this case as a complainant , as it did in the case of the honour killing of Qandeel Baloch.
“By your government taking such a step, it would not only ensure justice for Samia but it would also send a clear message to the perpetrators of so called honour crimes that there is no place to hide and the government will not tolerate violence against women.”
Ms Shahid married Syed Mukhtar Kazam in Leeds in September 2014 after she left her first husband, a cousin from Pakistan, who was initially granted “pre-arrest bail” in 2016 and offered himself to police for interview before he was accused of her murder.
However, her husband, Mr Kazam, says she was murdered in an honour killing, because of her marriage to him.
Her family has strongly denied any involvement in her death.
Shortly after the 28-year-old’s death, it emerged that Ms Shahid was found with a bruise on her neck – even though the original report from a post-mortem examination indicated there were no physical marks on her.
Ms Shahid’s father, Chaudhry Muhammad Shahid, was held as a suspected accessory to murder but released on bail. He died in January 2018 in Pakistan.
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