Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Father of honour killing victim Samia Shahid dies

Samia Shahid's father has been found dead just days before a documentary on her death was set to air. The cause of death has not been revealed.

Shahid, a beautician from Bradford, England, was raped and strangled in an alleged honour killing in 2016 while visiting family in Pakistan. She had gone to Pakistan after receiving a phone call claiming her father, Chaudhry Muhammad Shahid, was critically ill. Her father was arrested as a suspected accessory, but was later released due to lack of evidence.


Her former husband, Muhammad Shakeel, was charged with raping Shahid and then killing her. Shakeel is still in jail.

Shahid drew her family's ire after she divorced Shakeel, her cousin, and then married a second time without their consent. Her family reportedly disapproved of the marriage.

The documentary, Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid, was set to be broadcast on BBC Two this week, but has been postponed following her father’s death. It is not immediately known when the documentary will be aired next.

In the documentary Shahid's second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazam says his late wife was desperate for her family's approval.

"How could a father do that to his daughter?" asks Kazam of her father's decision to get her married off to her cousin. "He raised up a child all his life, loved and cared so much for the child, and finally he just decides that she’s no more his daughter - but a cow to go the market and sell."

Shahid reportedly fell in love with Kazam when she was already married to her first husband. Shahid first met Muhktar in 2013 after she returned to the UK following her wedding the year before.

In May 2014, Shahid approached a local Imam to seek divorce under Sharia Law, and four months later she married Kazam in a secret ceremony. Kazam has described his wedding day as one of the "happiest days of his life."

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less