Islamabad: The first husband of a Pakistani-origin British woman who is accused of killing her for allegedly converting to Shia Islam, was previously jailed for his involvement in a gun attack over a land dispute.
Samia Shahid, 28, was killed in July 20 in Pandoori village of Mangla area of Jhelum in Punjab district.
Chaudhry Shakil, a cousin and former husband of Samia, had a criminal record, Dawn quoted local people of the area as saying. He is one of the suspects in the murder case.
They said Shakil had faced 18-month jail on charges of firing and injuring a resident of Dhok Sahi near Pandoori. Their claim was confirmed by police officer Aqeel Abbas who said the shooting had taken place over a land dispute.
Shakil had also contested the last local bodies elections for the post of a general councillor of his village in November 2015 but lost.
Samia, from Dhok Pandori village, Jehlum, had come to Pakistan from Dubai over two weeks ago to see her ailing father and was allegedly murdered on July 20.
Syed Mukhtar Kazim, second husband of Samia, told police her wife had been killed by her family members for marrying against the will of her parents.
The villagers Dhok Pandori village said a paternal aunt of the deceased woman had also died under identical circumstances nearly 25 years ago since she had also sought divorce from her husband which her family was not ready to accept.
That aunt was later found dead at her parents home but her brother Chaudhry Shahid, the father of Samia, and other family members had then declared that she (aunt) had committed suicide. They said the matter went unnoticed at that time as nobody approached police.
Shahid, also a suspect in the case lodged by Syed Mukhtar Kazim, the second husband of the deceased woman, had initially told police that her daughter had died of heart attack. Later he said that she committed suicide.
The inquiry team had grilled Shakil, on an interim bail till August 6, during his personal appearance on Saturday torecord his statement.
The investigation team had also recorded the statements of Shahid and complainant Kazim.
Two female suspects in the case, including Imtiaz Bibi, the mother and Madiha Shahid, the sister of the deceased, are yet to record their statements.
Jhelum police had requested the Lahore Forensic Laboratory to complete its analysis of Samia's body samples to determine the cause of her death. They said since the case was under international spotlight, they wanted to conclude investigation at the earliest.
