Murdered For Love? The True Story Of Samia Shahid's 'Honour Killing'

On 20th July 2016, 28-year-old Samia Shahid from Bradford was found dead in Pakistan.

Eight days later, her father and ex-husband were arrested in connection with her murder.

Now a new BBC documentary, Murdered For Love? is telling the tragic story that led to her death.

The hour-long programme details how Shahid's arranged marriage to her first cousin (Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel) fell apart, the second marriage to the man she loved and the trip back to Pakistan that would be her last.

The case prompted Bradford MP, Naz Shah to write to the prime minister of Pakistan, describing the case as an "honour killing".

Speaking to Shahid's closest friends and the Pakistani police officers who dealt with the case, a picture forms of the young woman let down by the people she trusted and the community she was born into.

Shahid's first husband confessed to police to sexually assaulting and strangling Samia. He is currently being held in custody. Shahid's father was let go due to lack of evidence and since the show was made, has passed away.

Shahid is described as a "daddy's girl" but what also becomes clear is the total control her father exerted over her – she wasn't allowed to work or drive. Her parents were the driving force behind the arranged marriage between Shahid and her first cousin, Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel. Her friends recognised how unhappy Samia was but they also recognised the cultural pressures she faced. One describes it like this: "Family comes first no matter how much they shit on you."

Shahid's first marriage didn't last long. She was granted a divorce by a Sharia judge and hid it from her parents for months. Shortly after, Samia met Syed Mukhtar Kazam. The two arranged secret dates in London and had a small wedding, organised by friends, and began life as newlyweds in Dubai.

Despite being thousands of miles away, Shahid's family continued to try to control her. They lured her to Pakistan under the pretence that her father was gravely ill. Frantic text messages shared between Shahid and Mukhtar Kazam demonstrate how frightened she became. She hid her passport, plane ticket and ID, terrified that her family would steal them, forcing her to stay.

The day before she was due to fly home, the local police station received a phone call from Shahid's father, saying his daughter was dead. On arrival, the police found Samia's body at the bottom of the stairs in her family home in Lahore. Her father told officers that his daughter and Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel had been living there and she fell and died. Other family members said she died of a heart attack. Shakeel disappeared for eight days and on his reappearance was taken into questioning, along with Samia's father, where he confessed to sexually assaulting her before killing her. To this day, no convictions have been made.