Islamabad: The uncle of a Pakistani-origin British woman who was allegedly killed for “honour” in Punjab province in July, was arrested for fraudulently getting her death certificate from a local union council, the police said.
Samia Shahid, the 28-year-old British national of Pakistani origin, was killed in July 20 while visiting her family in the village of Pandori. Her relatives initially claimed she died from heart attack, the BBC reported.
Her uncle, Haq Nawaz was arrested on Sunday and sent to the district jail on judicial remand.
The certificate managed by Nawaz showed her former husband Chaudhary Shakil as her present husband and declared that she had died from a natural cause, the Dawn online reported.
The police said Nawaz had done so to save Shakil from charges of rape that had already been proved in the forensic report and the DNA test of Shakil.
Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for rape charge has also been added to the case registered against Shakil.
The police said the death certificate was produced before the investigating team on August 8 after the forensic report had proved that Samia died of unnatural causes through asphyxiation. Shakil later confessed he strangled her to death after intoxicating her.
According to a police official, the family in a bid to save Shakil from rape charges mentioned him as her current husband in the death certificate though she was married to Syed Mukhtar Kazim after getting divorce from Shakil.
Chaudhry Muhammad Shahid, Samia’s father, was also being held as an accessory to her murder.
Police said no further investigation was required as the probe team had thoroughly compiled detailed findings in the case.
Sources said the police were yet to interrogate the union council staff who issued the death certificate without verification, Dawn online added.
IANS