Bradford woman Samia Shahid's Pakistan death 'was murder' Published duration 26 July 2016

image copyright Family photo image caption Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford, died last week during a visit to relatives in Pandori in Northern Punjab

The husband of a woman who died in Pakistan believes she was killed after being threatened for marrying against her family's wishes.

Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford, died last week during a visit to relatives in Pandori in Northern Punjab.

Her father, Chadhry Muhammad Shahid, has denied the murder claim. Her family claims she died from natural causes.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed her death and West Yorkshire Police is investigating how she died.

Samia Shahid had previously been harassed by a family member in Bradford last September, the West Yorkshire force has confirmed.

Officers went to an address and the offender received a warning, the BBC has been told.

'They were threatening us'

Bradford West MP Naz Shah is also investigating Ms Shahid's death.

"I'm not going to rest until I'm satisfied I know the cause of her death - we need to investigate it fully," said Ms Shah, who has written to the prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, calling for Ms Shahid's body to be exhumed.

"It's very suspicious circumstances," she added.

image caption Syed Mukhtar Kazim said he asked his wife not to stay in Pakistan

Husband Syed Mukhtar Kazim, said that before she went to Pakistan, his wife's family had threatened her life.

"They were threatening us because she got married out of the family with her own will and they didn't like it", he told the BBC.

He said his wife had gone to Pakistan because she thought her father was ill.

Mr Kazim said he asked his wife not to stay in Pakistan and waiting for her to come home "was the longest week of his life".

"She was naïve. She always thought about other people, not herself, maybe that's the reason she got killed", he said.

Mr Kazim said he heard from her family that his wife had died of a heart attack after travelling from Dubai to Pakistan.

He is calling for another post-mortem examination to be carried out.

Marriage certificate

"I still think there's something dodgy behind it", he said.

Muhammad Shahid, who denies the murder claim, has also said he does not know who Syed Mukhtar Kazim is.

Tabraz Akhtar, an uncle of Samia Shahid, said the family was going through "a hard time".

"This person pretending to be her husband - that is wrong," he said.

"That looks like a sham marriage, she's married from Pakistan to her cousin."

However, the BBC in Islamabad has seen a UK marriage certificate for the couple.

The couple was married in Leeds two years ago, after Samia Shahid divorced the cousin she married in Pakistan, the BBC understands.