British woman was raped before 'honour' killing, finds probe

The officer in charge investigating British-Pakistani woman Samia Shahid's 'honour' killing in Pakistan has revealed that she was raped before her death.

Shahid, 28, from Bradford, was found dead in Pandori village in the house of her first husband Shakeel Ahmed on July 20 and the family claimed she had died a natural death, reports the Express Tribune.

Police charged Shahid's ex-husband and father with her murder on Saturday.

"We have completed our investigation and concluded that her ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel and (her) father Muhammad Shahid were involved in her killing," said Abubakar Buksh, Deputy Inspector General of Police, in the region.

"Her ex-husband has also been charged with raping her," he said.

According to Shahid's second husband Kazam, his wife had angered her parents by converting to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding.

The station house officer (SHO) of the Jhelum police station has also been arrested for showing negligence in handling the British-Pakistani woman's murder on July 20.

A high-level team constituted by the Punjab government and headed by DIG Abubakar Khuda Bakhsh is investigating the case.

The investigation team on Friday ordered the arrest of Mangla SHO Inspector Aqeel Abbas for showing negligence in the case. Officials at the Mangla Police Station confirmed that Abbas had been arrested.

Shahid's father has denied the charges, claiming his daughter died of natural causes.

Hundreds of women are murdered by relatives in the conservative Muslim nation each year on the pretext of defending the family's honour.

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