Ex-husband and the father of Dubai resident charged over her death

Samia Shahid, 28, was strangled in July during a visit to her family village in Punjab province. Her second husband, Mukhtar Kazam, claims she was murdered for bringing “dishonour” on her family.

Dubai resident Samia Shahid was strangled in Pakistan in July in a so-called 'honour killing'. Mukhtar Kazim

ABU DHABI // The father and the ex-husband of a former Dubai resident were on Saturday charged with her murder.

Samia Shahid, 28, was strangled in July during a visit to her family village in Punjab province, Pakistan.

Her husband, Mukhtar Kazam, said her parents were angry she had converted to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding and claimed she was killed for bringing “dishonour” on her family.

Police in Punjab said they had completed their investigation and concluded that her ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel and father Muhammad Shahid were involved in her killing.

“Her ex-husband has also been charged with raping her,” said Abubakar Buksh, deputy inspector general of police in Punjab.

“The abetment of Samia’s mother and sister in the crime has also been proved, but they have fled to the UK.

“We arrested the chief of the local police station for helping them escape.”

Mr Kazam and Ms Shahid, who both hold dual British-­Pakistani citizenship, were married for two years and lived in Dubai. Mr Kazam said her family conspired in the crime by telling her that her father was critically ill as a means to lure her to Pakistan.

Ms Shahid’s father denied the charges, claiming his daughter died of natural causes.

Hundreds of women are murdered by relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending family honour. Human rights groups and politicians have, for years, called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women.