Postmortem report for Samia Shahid suggests she was strangled

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GEO NEWS
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Postmortem report for Samia Shahid suggests she was strangled

RAWALPINDI: Postmortem reports of British woman Samia Shahid who was killed at Jhelum reveal that the body showed signs of resistance.

Mukhtar Kazam presented at an emotional press conference a copy of the post-mortem report into his wife Samia Shahid's death, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, and suggested she had been strangled. He has branded her death as an honour killing.

"I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial," he said, AFP.

Meanwhile, Samia’s first husband Mohammad Shakeel is being investigated in the murder. In a statement recorded to the police he said that he had never divorced Samia, sources told Geo News. He added that Samia had committed suicide.

In a complaint to police he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20. 

Shahid´s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of a heart attack. 

Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jehlum district police chief Mujahid Akbar. 

The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, brother to Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told AFP.

The victims of "honour" killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year. 

They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting. 

But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action. 

Last week the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate "honour" killings would soon be voted on by parliament.

Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan.