British-born Dubai real estate agent Samia Shahid, aged 28, died mysteriously a day before she was supposed to return to the city. Her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, is waiting for forensic reports but has accused his in-laws of murdering their daughter in what could be termed as an ‘honour killing’.

What are honour killings?

Wikipedia states: An honour skilling or shame killing is the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators’ belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion.

The couple got married in September 2014 against the wishes of Samia’s family who are based in Bradford. Her husband believes that this marriage could be the cause of the tragic incident as he was always treated as an outsider because his in-laws wanted their daughter to leave him and return to them. He further stated that his father-in-law often expressed that he’d kill his daughter.

The couple met each other in Bradford in October 2013 and married a year later in Leeds. This was Samia’s second marriage and her husband claims that she was forced into the first one.

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The case is being investigated by agencies in UK and Pakistan

However, Kazam said that the police told him the body had no visible injuries or signs of violence but there was frothing at the mouth. He suspects it’s a case of poisoning.

Samia’s parents have denied the allegations

In fact her father told local media that his daughter committed suicide. But Kazam doesn’t agree with their version of the story because, according to him, she was mentally, emotionally and physically fine before she left for Pakistan last month. 

After the death of her relative in Pakistan, Samia’s family asked her to visit them. They told her that her father was unwell and emotionally blackmailed her into going back to see them. 

Pic credit: Gulf News