GUJRAT: The parents of a British woman of Pakistani origin along with her former husband and two others have been booked for killing their own daughter in a village near Mangla in Jhelum district, police said on Tuesday.

Syed Mukhtar Kazim, the husband of 28-year-old Samia Shahid, alleged that his wife was killed by her family in the name of so-called honour as she married him against the will of her parents.

He lodged an FIR on July 23 against Samia’s father Chaudhary Shahid, mother Imtiaz Bibi, sister Madiha Shahid, cousin Mobeen and the deceased woman’s former husband Chaudhary Shakil under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 34 (common intention) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The death of Samia was reported by her father to Mangla police on July 20.

The suspects, who belong to Dhok Pandori village, have denied the charges and insist that Samia had died of cardiac arrest.

The British woman of Pakistani origin was allegedly murdered in Mangla

Police briefly detained the father of the woman but set him free after an initial inquiry.

An official of the Mangla police said body samples of the deceased had been sent to the forensic laboratory in Lahore and the result was awaited.

A beauty therapist from Bradford, Samia had previously been married to her cousin Shakil but the couple reportedly parted ways after divorce in May 2014. The woman then married Mr Kazim of Taxila in September 2014 and both started living in Dubai.

Mr Kazim claimed in the FIR that Samia had been killed by her relatives who had refused to accept their relationship because he did not belong to their community.

He said his mother-in-law phoned Samia on July 11 and asked her to come to Pakistan to see her ailing father.

She arrived in the country on July 14.

She told him by phone that her father was alright and now she was feeling insecure and threatened.

Mr Kazim said on July 20 his wife’s phone was switched off and he contacted Mobeen, her cousin, who told him that Samia had suffered a heart attack.

Mr Kazim reached Pakistan on July 21.

According to a report in The Guardian, the deceased woman’s family strongly denied Mr Kazim’s claims. Her father was quoted as saying that the allegations made by Mr Kazim were “lies and allegations” against him. “An investigation is under way and if I am found guilty I am ready for every kind of punishment,” he said.

“My daughter was living a very peaceful and happy life. She had come to Pakistan on her own and was not under any pressure from her family.”

Naz Shah, a member of British parliament from Bradford, had asked the prime minister of Pakistan to intervene, the report said.

In a letter written on Sunday to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Ms Shah wrote: “Should this be [an honour killing] case then we must ensure justice is done for Samia and we must ensure this never happens again.”

The British High Commission in Islamabad is in contact with the local authorities in Jhelum as well as the family of the deceased regarding the developments in the case.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2016