Two face ‘honour killing’ charges

The trial of the father and ex-husband of a British woman for her alleged rape and murder in a so-called honour killing has opened in Pakistan.

Mohammad Shahid is accused of killing his daughter, Samia Shahid, 28. Her ex-husband, Mohammad Shakeel, is accused of raping and strangling her. Defence lawyer Mohammed Arif said the two men must decide by October 7 if they plead guilty or not guilty.

Mrs Shahid, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was visiting family in July when she was found dead of what were initially assumed to be natural causes, and buried in a local cemetery in the village of Pandori.

A fresh inquiry was ordered after her second husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, accused her family of killing her because they opposed her decision to divorce her first husband in 2014 and marry him.