SAMAN Abbas, a second-generation Pakistani, who lived in the small Italian town of Novellara, near Bologna in Italy, disappeared in April 2021 and has been presumed dead. According to the Italian authorities, she was most likely murdered by her family in a case of honour killing after she refused to marry a boy — a cousin — picked by her parents.

The case was on Italian mainstream media for several months over the summer of 2021. The right-wing, anti-immigrant parties had a field day. They took to the airwaves and social media, pointing out that immigrants, in particular Pakistanis, would never adapt to the norms, mores and laws of Italy, or to those of any other European country.

According to such political parties, Pakistani immigrants might appear to be hard-working, law-abiding citizens, but inside their homes, they are what they actually are. This kind of rhetoric not only feeds biases and hatred, but also poisons ongoing political discussions about important topics related to immigration and integration.

The case has returned to the spotlight in recent weeks due to two events. The first is that some human remains have been found near the place where the family used to live. Police had been looking for the body for over a year, but it was found only after the ill-fated girl’s uncle, one of those under investigation in the case, indicated where it might be.

Forensic tests are now being conducted to ascertain if the remains are those of Saman. If they are, the matter will be treated as murder, and not just as a case of a missing person.

The second development is the arrest of the girl’s father, Shabbar Abbas, in Pakistan. He had fled Italy along with his wife after the disappearance of her daughter. He has been arrested for fraud, but will likely also be questioned about the disappearance of his daughter.

The Italian Ministry of Justice has now formally requested Pakistani authorities to extradite the man for questioning and possible trial. Interpol has issued a Red Notice for his arrest. Pakistani authorities should respond expeditiously to the request because politicisation of the case or bureaucratic foot-dragging will harm the judicial process, and would also have an immense negative impact on the reputation of Pakistanis, especially of those based in Italy. It will surely fan the flames of anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan sentiment in the country and across the continent.

Daud Khan, Ejaz Ahmed & Sabika Shah Povia
Rome, Italy

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2022