Pakistani police, in collaboration with Interpol, conducted a raid on a residence in Kashmir and apprehended a Pakistani woman convicted in Italy for the murder of her daughter. Nazia Shaheen was arrested in a village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and presented before a judge in Islamabad. The arrest was confirmed by Islamabad police, with Interpol aiding in locating the woman.
The woman, along with her husband and uncle, was convicted in Italy for the murder of Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old Pakistani woman. Abbas was killed after refusing her family's demands for an arranged marriage. Honor killings, a practice prevalent among conservative Pakistanis, claim the lives of numerous women annually as punishment for perceived transgressions.
Abbas' body was discovered in an abandoned farmhouse in Italy, a year and a half after she was last seen alive. Italian authorities determined that she was murdered by her family in May 2021. Shaheen's husband was previously arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy, where he received a life sentence in 2023. Shaheen, tried in absentia, was also sentenced to life in prison, while her uncle received a 14-year term.
Following investigations, Abbas' cousins were found innocent and released from custody. The victim's father, extradited from Pakistan, professed his innocence during court proceedings. The trial shed light on the mistreatment of immigrant women in Italy who resist forced marriages.
Abbas, who had embraced Western customs after moving to Italy, faced opposition from her family for dating a man of her choice. Her refusal to marry a cousin in Pakistan led to her tragic demise, marked by signs of strangulation in an autopsy. The case underscores the clash between traditional values and individual autonomy in immigrant communities.
