Investigation after London woman found dead in Pakistan

A BRITISH woman has been allegedly shot and strangled at her home in Pakistan on Monday (3).

Mayra Zulfiqar, 26, a law student from Feltham, west London, was found dead at the property in the Defence district of Lahore after four attackers reportedly barged into her home.

According to local reports, two men had been competing for Zulfiqar’s hand in marriage. A student of law at the University of West London, she is reported to have arrived in Pakistan from the UK two months ago to attend a friend’s wedding and later deciding to stay on in the country.

Her parents are now on their way to Pakistan.

Local reports say Zulfiqar’s uncle Mohammad Nazeer has filed a First Incident Report (FIR) with the police, accusing two of his niece’s friends – Zahir Jadoon and Saad Ameer Butt – of being behind the murder.

Nazeer, from Lahore, said both men threatened and harassed Zulfiqar, making her fear for her life with “dire consequences”.

Qasim, a police officer involved in the investigation, said: “The woman had a bullet wound to the shoulder, but the exact cause of death will be known after her post-mortem and forensic report, whether the death was due to a gunshot wound or whether she was strangled. We have launched an investigation into every aspect of the murder. More facts will come to light after the autopsy and forensic report.”

According to Zulfiqar’s LinkedIn profile, she had been working as a paralegal at Duncan Blackett in Reading before her move to Pakistan. Having achieved a Master of Laws from the University of West London, she also studied for a Bachelor of Laws at Middlesex University, during which she spent time studying in Dubai.