Four booked for murdering British Pakistani woman

LAHORE: Initial investigation into the murder of a 26-year-old British Pakistani girl suggests that two acquaintances had shot her dead at her rented house in the Defence-B police limits the other day.

Police have registered the FIR against the two nominated accused and two accomplices, collected forensic evidence from the crime scene and started investigation. Sources in the investigation wing of Lahore police told The News that the girl was also holding the citizenship of Belgium while her parents were living in the UK. She was a law graduate from London. Some six years ago, the victim’s parents had tried to marry her off with an Afghan boy but she refused. She came to Pakistan one year back and started living with her friend Iqra Hamdani at a rented house.

Victim’s uncle Muhammad Nazir in his complaint to Defence B police stated that his niece Maira Zulfiqar had come to his house a few days back and told him that her two friends Tahir Jadoon and Saad Amir Butt had been threatening her with dire consequences over her refusal to their proposals. She feared for her life. He said he consoled her and made a plan to talk those boys.

On Monday, he received a call from his brother Zulfiqar from London that Maira had been shot dead. He went to the house and found her in a pool of blood in her room. He alleged that she had been murdered by Tahir Jadoon and Saad Butt along with their two accomplices. He said that both of them wanted to marry her but she refused.

A police officer, who visited the crime scene, said that the victim had come to her place after Sehri. She went upstairs and was found dead in the day. She had a bullet injury in the neck and torture marks on the body.

The circumstantial evidence suggested that the suspect(s) had strangled her first and then shot her. A police team also recorded the statement of the victim’s friend.

The police are collecting CCTV footages from the area to further ascertain the identity of killers and trying to get the data about killers from Nadra.

Lahore DIG Investigation Shariq Jamal also visited the crime scene on Tuesday. The Cantt SP Investigation and other officers were also present. He formed two teams of CIA and local police to arrest the suspects. The DIG said that they were utilizing all the available resources to solve the matter.