A daughter’s love leads to danger in Pakistan | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
and for a more detailed list of content warnings please the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
website this episode was originally released on Case Files patreon Apple premium and Spotify Premium feeds as an
early bonus for our paid subscribers these episodes are designed to be slightly shorter allowing us to
cover a broader range of cases to receive these episodes early and add free you can support case file on your
preferred platform [Music] growing up in the English city of Bradford Samia Shahid was a typical
high-spirited girl she enjoyed fashion and fast cars and was popular funny and headstrong samia's family fully
supported her Endeavors especially her father Muhammad there was no question that
samya was a daddy's girl the Shahid family were well known around Bradford Sam's parents ran a
limousine and car service business one of her uncles owned a fish and chip shop and another the local
Florest the Shahid family tree also extended to their ancestral home of pandori a small village in the Punjab
region of Pakistan Samia and her younger sister medha were given latitude to enjoy their
Western upbringing though only up to a point the Shahid remained true to their Sunni Muslim faith and pakist
Heritage in 2012 as samya reached her mid-20s her parents felt it was time for her to settle down and
marry although arranged marriages weren't required by the Sunni Faith they were encouraged if not expected through
Pakistani tradition Samia wanted to make her family happy and proud and was open to
the idea Muhammad Shahid chose a man named chre Shaquil to be his daughter's husband Samia was less than
enthused Shaquille lived in pandori and to just being released from prison for a
non-fatal shooting of another man over a land dispute he was also samia's first cousin marriages between first cousins
in the British Pakistani Community weren't uncommon samia's parents were first cousins and had an enduring and loving
marriage they just wanted what they thought was best for their [Music] [Music] daughter
Samia put on a happy face around her family and appeared willing to give her upcoming marriage her best
shot plans were made for her to travel to Pakistan for the wedding though when speaking with her friends Samia was
plagued with [Music] concerns she sought to live a happy life but couldn't see this happening with the
chre Shaquille in the weeks leading up to her departure Sam sent multiple messages to
her friends expressing her growing despair in one she wrote I'm dying I swear my life's a
joke Samia arrived in Pakistan in mid February 2012 determined not to upset her family
she threw herself into the task of planning her wedding she bought her outfit and
jewelry from the Pakistani Bazaar and fine-tuned every detail of the event her father paid for everything she
needed Samia W chre Shaquil in a 4-day ceremony in front of hundreds of guests as a wedding gift to his new
son-in-law samia's father gave Shaquille the house next door to the Shahid family
home in pandori after the wedding Samir and Shaquille moved in 4 months later in June samya returned to
Bradford without her new husband Shaquille intended to migrate to the UK so Samir assisted with his
application for a spous or VISA their marriage ceremony known as a nikar under Islam was in accordance with
Pakistan's Sharia law it therefore qualified as a legally recognized marriage under British
law however samir's friend noted that she was a shell of her former self although Shaquille was nearly 4,000
M away samya felt like she was under his constant surveillance he insisted that they video
call and remain in contact every day samya felt trapped and soon fell into depression within a matter of weeks she
told her friends that she wanted to die with her husband's visa application still being processed AA returned to
Pakistan in December she continued living with Shaquille but her feelings towards him
didn't change 6 months later Samia flew back to England it wasn't long before her
friends began to notice a positive change Samia seemed more like her former self she was once again talkative
sociable and cheerful she soon revealed her reason for this in October Samia was out to dinner in
London with a group of friends when she met a man named Sayad MTAR kazm known as
Ali Ali had only been visiting London for a short time he was also a jewel British and Pakistani National but he
lived and worked in Dubai Ali and Samia remained in contact and formed a close platonic friendship
opening up about all aspects of their lives including samia's unwanted marriage Ali and samia's feelings for
one another developed into a romance and by 2014 they were in love around the same time samia's
husband's UK visa application was rejected consequently Samia knew that her family would expect her to spend
much more of her time in Pakistan she didn't want this life for herself hoping that Shaquille would
accept the futility of their marriage Samir asked him for a divorce he [Music] refused Samia turned to the protection
of Islam under Sharia law a marriage is valid only if both parties give their free
consent this must come without any physical psychological Financial or emotional pressure otherwise the
marriage can be considered to be forced and declared void Samia visited at Bradford de mosque
and spoke with the prayer leader also referred to as the Imam she revealed that she'd been
pressured into marriage by her family the Imam attempted to contact chre Shaquille for his side of the story
but he never responded as a result Sam's marriage to Shaquille was declared void Samia kept this news from her
family and discreetly began planning a future with Ali A little over 4 months later the
pair wedded they presented themselves at the home of the bradford-based amam who
voided Sam's previous marriage Samia was happy smiling and singing throughout the
ceremony 17 days later the newly Weds completed the British legal formalities by signing the marriage
register Ali soon had to travel back to his home in Dubai for work Samia had to wait for her spouse or
visa application to be approved before she could join him in the meantime she remained in
Bradford with her family whom she believed were unaware of what she had [Music] done
just over a month after her marriage to Ali Samia was walking through town one night when a man
approached he wielded a metal bar which he smashed across samia's legs by the time Samia was taken to
hospital large red and purple bruises had formed across her thighs she understood that the secret
about her marriage to Ali was out the attack on her was an act of Retribution at the same time the Imam
who officiated Samir and Ali's wedding was warned that there would be consequences for his
involvement the threats had Arisen from The Shahs samia's own family over the coming months they
ostracized samama further with her mother throwing out all of her belongings the family also began
threatening Ali demanding he cut tires with Sam the police were informed and acted
accordingly but the animosity between Samir and her family continued to grow she became more frightened for her
safety in late May 2015 8 months after her wedding to Ali Samia received her spouse or
VISA she fled to Dubai the the very next day samia's happiness was evident in photos and updates she sent back to her
friends in the UK yet the absence of her family weighed heavily on Samia she reached out to her family
nearly every day asking for forgiveness while samia's mother and sister sometimes responded to her
messages her father ignored her completely his silence h Sam profoundly when Ali tried to appeal to
Muhammad Shahid he just demanded that Ali ended the marriage to his daughter Ali
refused Samia and Ali wanted to have children with this in mind Samia returned to Bradford to extend the Olive
Branch to her family her mother collected her from the airport and brought her home to see her
father and sister Samia kissed her dad and begged him for forgiveness everyone was in tears and
for a fleeting moment samama hoped that she would be welcomed back however the Pakistani traditions of
family reputation and respect were deeply upheld by Muhammad Shahid and his extended
family in their eyes Samia had brought great shame on the family by marrying Ali Not only was he from outside the
family he wasn't even a member of the same Faith samia's Family were Sunni Muslims
whereas Ali and his family were Shia Muslims a bitter and violent split dating back 14th centuries exists
between the sunnis and the Shi over who should succeed the prophet Muhammad as the leader of the Islamic
faith in another perceived slight to her family Samia had converted to the Shia Muslim faith prior to marrying
Ali Muhammad Shahid outright rejected his daughter in a voice message left for Ali
Samia said the parents that I cried for while I was away are mine no more my kids will
never see them never hear them I'm broken that's it my only pride is you and you
[Music] alone Samia returned to Dubai devastated 10 months later in June 2016 28-year-old Samia was informed that her
ex-husband's mother had passed away as well as being samia's former mother-in-law she was also her
aunt the pair had been markedly close during Samia time in Pakistan Samia desperately wanted to
attend the funeral service in pandori her parents and sister would also be there granting her the
opportunity to see them for the first time in almost a year however the trip was fraught with
risk threats and attacks made against Samia in the UK for her alleged blasphemy had been restrained by
prevailing Western customs and British law it was different in Pakistan when a person brings shame upon
their family Millennial old Pakistani tradition dictates that honor can be restored by male family members
murdering that person in a society where some value the dominance of men and the modesty and
subservience of women the majority of Honor killing victims are girls and women who are killed by male
relatives in Pak istan many actions can lead to family dishonor including when a
woman marries against her family's wishes although forbidden under Sharia law the practice of kokari or honor
killing has continued in Pakistan especially in rural areas Samia knew that traveling to
Pakistan would put her life in danger her ex-husband chre Shaquille still lived there and and he and his
family would no doubt have strong feelings about samia's perceived indiscretions after mulling it over with
her husband Ali Sam decided that it wasn't wise for her to go to Pakistan several days after her aunt's
funeral Samia received a word from her mother and sister while they were in Pakistan
samia's father had suffered complications in relation to his diabetes his health had taken a turn for the
worse and they feared he didn't have much time left samia's family encouraged her to
visit him despite the painful rejection Samia still loved her father yet she remained uncertain if
Pakistan was safe for her she messaged a friend I want to go but I have no assurances
while samia's husband and Friends agreed that she would likely never forgive herself if her father died without her
by his side they were adamant that she would be risking everything by returning to
Pakistan Samia made her decision her sister booked her a plane ticket and on Thursday July 14 2016
Samia boarded her flight to Pakistan before before she left she messaged a friend asking her to quote
pray I come back alive Sam's friend responded with one word inshah meaning God [Music]
willing during her first night in Pakistan samya stayed with a friend she left her passport and
returned ticket at their house for safety keeping she then made her way to pandori over the next few days Samia
sent several text messages to Ali updating him on her plans and sending her love she spent time with her mother
father and sister as well as extended family on July 18 Samia visited her aunt's grave with her
father around noon on Wednesday July 20 she went to the pakist Bazar to buy food
for dinner she messaged Ali flying out tomorrow hope all goes well insh Allah about 90 minutes after Samia sent
this message the phone rang at the pandori police station on the line was Muhammad
Shahid he was distressed and crying and he informed the answering officer my daughter has has died my
daughter has died police were directed to go to the home of chre Shaquille where they found
Samia Shahid lying motionless on her back at the foot of the stairs her scarf was covering her
face police lifted it away gently revealing that samia's eyes were closed and froth had formed around her
mouth she was clearly deceased her slip on shoes were scattered nearby and her handbag had
been placed by her feet trre Shaquille was not at the scene and no one knew where he had
gone later that evening Ali kazm received a phone call from Shaquille who informed Ali that Samia had suffered a
heart attack and died samia's friends in the UK started receiving mixed messages about her cause
of death some were told she died of a heart attack or a severe asthma attack While others heard she fell down the
stairs neither samir's friends nor husband believed any of these explanations for a
second within 72 hours of his wife's death Ali km flew to Pakistan to investigate the matter personally
he was immediately confronted with a significant problem if a death isn't contentious
Sharia law requires burial to be swift allegedly there were no visible injuries or signs of violence on samia's
body therefore police did not view her death as suspicious her body was hastily released
to her family and within hours of her death Samia had been buried in the village cemeter
Ali informed officers at Pandora's local police station of the threats and attacks leveled against his wife as a
result of their marriage with these new insights officers considered the possibility that
Samia was the victim of a kokari an honor killing in the UK samia's friends worked
diligently to raise awareness of samia's death which they undoubtedly believed was a
murder news of the case reached the local Member of Parliament for samir's constituency of West Bradford Naz
sha like Samia Naz sha was a British citizen of Pakistani descent and she immediately recognized that samia's
death had all the attributes of an honor killing she wasted no time writing to the Pakistani prime minister seeking a
proper investigation into samia's death as a result NZ sha started receiving threats from the Shahid family in
Bradford two of samia's relatives a 32-year-old woman and a 37-year-old male were
arrested in Pakistan Ali kazm got his hands on a copy of samia's autopsy report the content shocked him and he
quickly arranged a press conference in order to announce the truth of his findings
a 19 cm long reddish brown bruise had been found around samia's neck the cause of her death had been
listed as aixia photographs showing this bruise were leaked to the media Ali remained in Pakistan
determined to find out what exactly had happened to his wife his efforts resulted in death
threats with Ali subsequently requiring 24-hour police protection the rising political pressure
resulted in a special task force being established to investigate Samia shahid's
death in mid August weeks after she died the task force Tracked Down chre Shaquille during interrogation Shaquille
revealed that the morning before samama was due to depart Pakistan he rummaged through her belongings in search of her
passport and flight ticket unable to find them he confronted samya and tried to pressure her to
remain in Pakistan with him when she refused Shaquille raped her traces of seminal fluid inside
samia's body were found to match Shaquille after her ordeal Samia tried to run out of the house but Shaquille
chased her down and strangled her to death with her own scarf Shaquille was adamant that he had
acted alone but police weren't convinced when they arrived at Shaquille's home the day samya was
killed they were met with Muhammad Shahid he outright told police that his daughter had died of a heart attack and
kept this story up until Ali km held his press conference revealing samia's autopsy
results Muhammad then revised his previous statements to say that samya had suicided Muhammad had told police at the
scene that Samia was married to and lived with chre Shaquille he made no mention of Ali km
at the time later claiming that he had never even heard of Ali with his story failing to add up
Muhammad Shahid was taken into custody believed to have at least been an accessory to his daughter's
[Music] murder according to a 43-page report prepared by the special investigation
task force Samia Shahid was the victim of a premeditated and coldblooded honor killing her family had felt disrespected
by her attempt to divorce charre Shaquille and were further Dishonored when Samir instead married a man who
wasn't a Sunni Muslim Shaquille was also angry that he could no longer immigrate to England as
samia's spouse the report highlighted the campaign of threats against Samir over
the preceding years and the trepidation that she must have felt in returning to Pakistan investigators believed that
Muhammad Shahid and chre Shaquil had always intended to bring samya back to Pakistan they likely intended to
persuade or otherwise force her to resume her marriage to Shaquille when she refused and tried to
escape Shaquille's home Samia was likely confronted by her father it was believed he had held
samia's legs while shail strangled her with her own scarf after the murder Shaquille fled
while samia's father did everything he could to hide the truth from First Responders the the task force believed
that Muhammad Shahid knew that the postmortem results would reveal that his daughter had been
strangled if those results were leaked they believed that Muhammad Shahid had a backup plan to Lodge his own private
prosecution against Shaquil for murder deeply rooted in Islamic law and codified by pakistani's penal code is
the concept of retributive Justice known as Casas however it is possible to circumvent such an eye for an eye
approach through a de it a payment in Le of punishment Muhammad Shahid would have
been able to renounce his right to have his daughter's killer sent to prison or possibly executed if the killer instead
paid him financial compensation this loophole is often utilized in honor killings Muhammad and chre Shaquille
likely planned to use these quote Blood Money laws to Pardon Shaquille for killing
Samia the task force report noted that the collision between Shaquil and Muhammad Shahid was almost the perfect
plot had it not been for Ali km's immediate determination to uncover the truth they would have gotten away with
murder Muhammad Shahid and Chri kill applied for bail at each preliminary hearing in the district
court they were denied each time after 4 months in jail Muhammad appealed to the high court of
lore the judges determined that there wasn't enough evidence against him to justify his continued
custody the state prosecutor appealed to Pakistan's Supreme Court however the court upheld the
ruling Muhammad Shahid was released the case against trre Shaquille was much stronger but not
watertite in Pakistan confessions made outside of a court of law have no legal standing and cannot be used as evidence
against an accused this practice is designed to eliminate the risk of coerced confessions Shaquille remained in
custody albeit without formal charges being laid by the time the 1-year anniversary of
Sam shahid's murder approached no tangible progress had been made towards a trial in response to the slow turning
wheels of Justice Bradford West Member of Parliament NZ sha once again wrote to the Pakistani prime minister urging him
to pursue Justice for SAA Naz sha received the appropriate assurances but still nothing seemed to
be done done 6 months later in late January 2018 Muhammad Shahid was hospitalized he succumbed to kidney
failure and passed away neither Muhammad's wife Ina's BB nor his daughter madha were at his side
when he died a warrant was out for their arrest in Pakistan the task force fronting the
investigation into Samia shahid's murder had reviewed the possibility of others being
involved they had come to believe that samia's mother and sister played some ancillary role in samia's death but when
they tried to bring them in for further questioning they discovered that both women had fled back to the
UK in 2018 samia's sister madha granted an exclusive interview with British tabloid Asian Express
in the interview she expressed her family's ongoing belief that samia's marriage to chre Shaquille was legal and
not forced madha said that she and her family were emotionally torn and couldn't understand samia's sudden
death she referred to it as a tragic accident while claiming the photographs showing the strangulation Mark around
her sister's neck were fake medha proclaimed that she and her family were innocent and that their
lives had been ruined by quote a false narrative calling this an honor killing from the
outset Mt B and madha Shahid are still wanted for questioning by Pakistani authorities investigators also found
evidence implicating local police officer Muhammad Akil abas in covering up the crime abas was one of the first officers
on the scene after samia's death it is alleged that he had accepted a bribe from chre Shaquille in order to
let him flee the crime scene abas had also concealed the presence of the large strangulation Mark
around samia's neck additionally he'd helped samia's mother and sister leave Pakistan despite
Specific Instructions from his superiors not to let them go 11 weeks after samia's murder the
Pakistan parliament passed a bill to close the blood Money legal loophole with regard to wner
killings the new bill amended the Pakistan Penal Code so that the family of an honor killing victim could no
longer entirely forgive the perpetrator on receipt of financial compensation instead the perpetrator
would face a mandatory life sentence in September 2018 after having spent 2 years in police custody without charge
chre Shaquille was released on bail he was permitted to live freely within his community while awaiting
trial a year later Shaquille remarried like Samia his wife was British Pakistani and Shaquille once
again applied to immigrate to the UK espouse or VISA Bradford West Member of Parliament
Naz sha again wrote to the Pakistan prime minister as well as the British home and foreign
secretaries she labeled the potential for Shaquille to be allowed entry into the UK as extremely worrying and
potentially dangerous Shaquille's application was unsuccessful every year since NZ sha
renewed her appeals to both British and Pakistani authorities to encourage progress in the case against
Shaquille promises have been made but no action has been taken in July 2022 6 years after samia's
murder Naz sha posted online sadly after years of fighting for this case I think there is little hope
that the justice system in Pakistan will ever give samya the Justice she [Music]
deserves [Music]

Case 262: Samia Shahid

*** Content warning: Domestic violence, sexual assault *** In Pakistani culture, arranged marriages are common. So when the parents of Samia Shahid chose a husband for her, Samia agreed to the marriage. Despite being raised in England, Samia took her Pakistani heritage very seriously and would do anything to make her family proud.

But Samia’s arranged marriage to her first cousin, Choudhry Shakeel, was far from what she expected. Samia was determined to build a better life for herself, but at what cost?

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-262-samia-shahid

Brief Summary

Samia Shahid's tragic story reveals forced marriage, family honor, and her murder in Pakistan.

Key points

Samia's Struggle with Marriage. Samia feels trapped in an arranged marriage to her cousin, Shaquille, who has a troubled past.
The Secret Wedding. Samia secretly marries Ali, seeking happiness away from her family's expectations.
Tragic Death. Samia is found dead under suspicious circumstances shortly after returning to Pakistan.
Blood Money Loophole Closed. Pakistan parliament passed a bill to close the blood money loophole in honor killings.
Naz Sha's Ongoing Fight for Justice. Naz Sha continues to appeal for justice in Samia's case, facing bureaucratic hurdles.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm dying, I swear my life's a joke.

Samia expresses her despair to friends before her wedding.

4:08WatchOct 7, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.