The husband of a British woman who was killed in Pakistan has called for the UK and Pakistani governments to ensure his wife received justice, as he sought to keep the spotlight on so-called &quot;honour&quot; killings. 
 
Mukhtar Kazam presented at an emotional press conference a copy of the post-mortem report into his wife Samia Shahid`s death, seen by AFP, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, and suggested she had been strangled. 
 
Kazam has branded her death an &quot;honour killing&quot;, a near daily occurrence in Pakistan in which a relative is murdered by another for bringing the family &quot;dishonour&quot;. 
 
The practice was dragged into the international spotlight earlier this month with the killing of Qandeel Baloch, a polarising Pakistani social media star.&nbsp; 
 
Brother confesses to murder, calls sister&#39;s behaviour &#39;intolerable&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Shahid&#39;s brother has confessed to the murder, saying his sister`s behaviour had been &quot;intolerable&quot;. Kazam sought to keep international attention on &quot;honour&quot; killings when he spoke to media assembled in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad, Thursday. 
 
&quot;I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
Kazam and Samia, who was a dual British-Pakistani citizen, had been married for two years and were living in Dubai, police told AFP, adding that it was Shahid&#39;s second marriage. 
? 
Kazam is Pakistani, an officer told AFP. Police had initially said that he also was British-Pakistani. 
 
Kazam said his wife converted to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding, which had irked her parents.&nbsp; 
 
In a complaint to police, he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20. 
&nbsp; 
Shahid`s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of natural causes.&nbsp; 
 
Police told AFP that Shahid`s first husband, Mohammad Shakeel, is being investigated in the murder but received pre-arrest bail on Thursday.&nbsp; 
 
Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jhelum district police chief Mujahid Akbar.&nbsp; 
 
Special committee formed to investigate into murder&nbsp; 
 
The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, brother to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told AFP. 
 
The victims of &quot;honour&quot; killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year.&nbsp; 
 
They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting.&nbsp; 
But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action.&nbsp; 
 
Last week, the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate &quot;honour&quot; killings would soon be voted on by parliament. 
 
Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Mukhtar Kazam, Samia's husband, said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck suggesting she had been strangled

The husband of a British woman who was killed in Pakistan has called for the UK and Pakistani governments to ensure his wife received justice, as he sought to keep the spotlight on so-called "honour" killings. Mukhtar Kazam presented at an emotional press conference a copy of the post-mortem report into his wife Samia Shahid`s death, seen by AFP, which said the 28-year-old had marks on her neck, and suggested she had been strangled. Kazam has branded her death an "honour killing", a near daily occurrence in Pakistan in which a relative is murdered by another for bringing the family "dishonour". The practice was dragged into the international spotlight earlier this month with the killing of Qandeel Baloch, a polarising Pakistani social media star. Brother confesses to murder, calls sister's behaviour 'intolerable' Shahid's brother has confessed to the murder, saying his sister`s behaviour had been "intolerable". Kazam sought to keep international attention on "honour" killings when he spoke to media assembled in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad, Thursday. "I request the British and Pakistani governments to conduct a fair trial," he said. Kazam and Samia, who was a dual British-Pakistani citizen, had been married for two years and were living in Dubai, police told AFP, adding that it was Shahid's second marriage. ? Kazam is Pakistani, an officer told AFP. Police had initially said that he also was British-Pakistani. Kazam said his wife converted to Shia Islam, his sect, before their wedding, which had irked her parents. In a complaint to police, he has claimed she was murdered during a visit to her family in their village in Punjab province on July 20. Shahid`s father has denied the charges and said he did not want an investigation, claiming his daughter died of natural causes. Police told AFP that Shahid`s first husband, Mohammad Shakeel, is being investigated in the murder but received pre-arrest bail on Thursday. Her parents and a cousin are also being investigated, said Jhelum district police chief Mujahid Akbar. Special committee formed to investigate into murder The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, brother to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has formed a special committee that is also tasked with investigating the murder, a senior government official told AFP. The victims of "honour" killings are overwhelmingly women, with hundreds killed each year. They have long polarised Pakistan, with progressives calling for tough legislation against them and conservatives resisting. But the murder of Qandeel Baloch appears to have spurred politicians to take action. Last week, the law minister announced that bills aimed at tackling loopholes that facilitate "honour" killings would soon be voted on by parliament. Rights groups and politicians have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence against women in Pakistan. (AFP)

Husband of UK woman killed for 'honour' in Pakistan calls for justice

President Tayyip Erdogan outlined plans on Tuesday to grant citizenship to some of the near 3 million migrants who have fled war in neighbouring Syria, particularly those with qualifications of use to Turkey. 
 
&quot;Western nations open their doors to such skilled individuals and they have no choice but to go (to the West) when we do not open the gates (of citizenship) ourselves. We would like to benefit from their knowledge,&quot; Erdogan told reporters after praying at an Istanbul mosque. 
 
Turkey struck a deal with the European Union in March to stem the flow of migrants into Europe and it has sharply cut the number of refugees and migrants reaching Greece. However, the deal has been hampered by discord over Turkish counter-terrorism law, which the EU wants brought in line with its codes. 
 
Ankara has already said it would make it easier for migrants from Syria and other nations to get work permits and Erdogan said they could also be made Turkish citizens. 
 
&quot;There are highly qualified individuals among Syrian refugees in Turkey. (Granting them citizenship) would both serve Turkey&#39;s interests and improve their living standards,&quot; Erdogan said at the start of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. 
 
Some 260,000 of the Syrians in Turkey live in state-run camps, while the remainder live in accommodation in cities across the country, which has a population of 79 million. 
 
&quot;We do not think it right to host such people in tent camps, container towns or in such basic places,&quot; Erdogan said. 
 
Erdogan first raised the idea of giving Syrian migrants the possibility of Turkish citizenship at the weekend, saying that the interior ministry was taking steps on the issue. 
 
His comments come after the Turkish government took steps last week to improve relations with Israel and Russia, marking a shift in a foreign policy which had left Turkey more isolated than influential. 
 
(Reuters)

Ankara has already said it would make it easier for migrants from Syria and other nations to get work permits

President Tayyip Erdogan outlined plans on Tuesday to grant citizenship to some of the near 3 million migrants who have fled war in neighbouring Syria, particularly those with qualifications of use to Turkey. "Western nations open their doors to such skilled individuals and they have no choice but to go (to the West) when we do not open the gates (of citizenship) ourselves. We would like to benefit from their knowledge," Erdogan told reporters after praying at an Istanbul mosque. Turkey struck a deal with the European Union in March to stem the flow of migrants into Europe and it has sharply cut the number of refugees and migrants reaching Greece. However, the deal has been hampered by discord over Turkish counter-terrorism law, which the EU wants brought in line with its codes. Ankara has already said it would make it easier for migrants from Syria and other nations to get work permits and Erdogan said they could also be made Turkish citizens. "There are highly qualified individuals among Syrian refugees in Turkey. (Granting them citizenship) would both serve Turkey's interests and improve their living standards," Erdogan said at the start of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. Some 260,000 of the Syrians in Turkey live in state-run camps, while the remainder live in accommodation in cities across the country, which has a population of 79 million. "We do not think it right to host such people in tent camps, container towns or in such basic places," Erdogan said. Erdogan first raised the idea of giving Syrian migrants the possibility of Turkish citizenship at the weekend, saying that the interior ministry was taking steps on the issue. His comments come after the Turkish government took steps last week to improve relations with Israel and Russia, marking a shift in a foreign policy which had left Turkey more isolated than influential. (Reuters)

Turkey's Erdogan moots plan to grant citizenship to Syrians

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