FATAL FORCED NUPTIALS

Arranged bride’s bid ‘to poison’ hub kills 15

A Pakistani newlywed’s attempt to flee her arranged marriage by allegedly murdering her husband with a glass of poisoned milk turned into a massacre this week when the spiked beverage wound up killing the man and 14 of his relatives, according to reports.

The assassination plot went wildly wrong when Asiya Bibi’s husband failed to drink the poisoned milk — and instead his mom used it to make a local yogurt dish called lassi, which she then served to relatives, the BBC reported.

As of Tuesday, 15 people — including the 25-year-old husband and a 9-year-old girl — had died and eight others were still hospitalized.

Bibi, 21, who lives in the southwest city of Muzaffargarh, was forced in September to accept the arranged marriage.

She had tried to flee her marital home but her parents sent her back, according to local reports.

Bibi was charged with murder, while her aunt and a man named Shahid, who is said to be her lover, have also been arrested.

She initially claimed a lizard had fallen into the milk, poisoning it, according to reports.

But officers claim she later confessed while in custody — though she has denied the allegations to local media.

“Shahid told me to poison the beverage, but I didn’t do it,” Bibi told the Geo News. “He asked me to marry him, but I refused.”

The suspects were also charged under an anti-terrorism law, police said.

Authorities are conducting chemical tests on the victims to determine the type of poison.

Arranged marriages are common in poorer, rural areas of Pakistan and pushed through by family members, Geo News reported.

Pakistan recently strengthened laws designed to prevent child marriage and forced conversions, but there is little recourse for women who reject a husband chosen for them by their family.

Pakistan has the highest number of forced marriages, according to Britain’s Forced Marriage Unit.

Cases of poisoning are common in Punjab, the Telegraph reported. Last month, newlyweds were reportedly poisoned by the bride’s family.

‘BLACK WIDOW’ BREW: Asiya Bibi’s alleged plot to escape a Pakistan forced marriage by poisoning her husband’s milk ended up killing not only him, but 14 relatives (inset, being mourned).