British couple gunned down in Pakistan in suspected honour killing after calling off marriage

British couple gunned down in Pakistan in suspected honour killing after calling off marriage

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:56 PM on 8th August 2010

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A British couple have been shot dead in Pakistan in a suspected honour killing after calling off their daughter's marriage.

Taxi driver Gul Wazir and wife Bagum were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote and dangerous Nowshera province after travelling there to try and settle the wedding dispute.

Their son was also shot in the cold-blooded attack - but miraculously survived. He is now in a stable condition in a hospital in north western Pakistan.
A couple from Alum Rock, Birmingham have been shot dead in Pakistan in a suspected honour killing over their daughter's marriage

A couple from Alum Rock, Birmingham have been shot dead in Pakistan in a suspected honour killing over their daughter's marriage

Mr and Mrs Wazir, from Alum Rock, Birmingham are understood to have travelled to the village to settle a row over their daughter's marriage, according to a family friend.

'The husband and wife had already promised their daughter to a man. When that arrangement ended he was not happy,' the friend said.

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'Gul and his wife went to Pakistan to try to sort it out, but this man went crazy and shot them for breaking off the engagement. This is a tragedy. They were honest, decent people'.

The killings happened on Monday, but details only emerged last night as the country is still in chaos after being hit by deadly floods.
Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham, said he was appalled at the double murder

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham, said he was appalled at the double murder

Another of Mr and Mrs Wazir's son's, Umar, was organising a memorial for them at an Islamic centre in Bordesley Green, Birmingham yesterday.

He said it was too early for his family to speak about the tragedy.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police confirmed the deaths. She said: 'We have been informed of the murder of two people from Birmingham in Pakistan.

'The murder inquiry is being carried out by the authorities in Pakistan and we will support their investigation as and when required.'

The family friend described Mr Wazir as a peaceful man, who loved his family.

'Gul was quiet, a humble, good man,' his friend said. 'He got on with his work, loved his children and was a regular at weddings and funerals and all community events. We all respected him, he will be sadly missed.'

The north western province of Pakistan where the couple were murdered is less than 100 miles from the Afghan border.

Honour killings have become a regular feature in the region, where a strict Islamic code is enforced.

'This is not a one-off incident,' the taxi driver's friend revealed. 'Less than 18 months ago, a man from Bordesley Green was murdered in the same village for very similar reasons. His daughter did not want to marry a man who believed he was entitled to her.

'It's a very sad situation, it is hard to accept that this sort of killing still goes on. The parents often don't have a say in Birmingham.

'If the daughter has been raised here and she doesn't want to marry a man, she won't be forced to do it.

'Back in Pakistan they still blame the parents if this happens. They don't understand that the culture is different.'
Gul Wazir and wife Bagum were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote and dangerous Nowshera province

Gul Wazir and wife Bagum were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote and dangerous Nowshera province

Muslim Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood said he was appalled at the double murder.

'This is shocking news,' he said. 'If it is discovered that this couple were killed as a result of a feud over an arranged marriage then it's truly disgraceful.

'This sort of thing should not be happening in this day and age.

'The area in question is in the north western province, where honour killings tend to happen quite regularly. These killings need to be clamped down on.'

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it could not reveal any further details.

'We would not get involved unless the family concerned had approached us for consular assistance,' a spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301264/British-couple-gunned-Pakistan-suspected-honour-killing-calling-marriage.html#ixzz0w182AQ70



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Son flees 'honour killing bloodbath' after parents were shot dead for refusing to let daughters marry their cousins

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:58 AM on 10th August 2010

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A British couple were shot dead in a 'honour killing' after they refused to let their two daughters marry their nephews, a family friend has revealed.

Gul Wazir and his wife Niaz Begum were eating breakfast when three men burst in and carried out the bloody 'revenge' attack.

Their son only escaped because he was upstairs taking a shower. Hearing the gunfire he rushed downstairs to find a bloodbath and his parents dead.

It has emerged that the row erupted when the taxi driver was asked by his Pakistan-based brother Noor if he would allow his daughters to marry his sons Awal Zamir and Rehman, who is believed to be one of the gunmen.
The Wazir's home in Birmingham

Marriage dispute: The Wazir's home in Birmingham. Their son Mehboob survived the 'honour killing' attack and is in a stable condition in hospital

But the daughters - who had stayed at home in Alum Rock, Birmingham - refused the proposals.

The aborted marriage was discussed in a grand jirga, or assembly of the village, which ended with an order for the Wazirs to pay the equivalent of £18,800 to their nephew in compensation.

But although both parties agreed with the decision, two days later, Rehman allegedly shot his uncle and aunt at the house they were staying at.

Mr Wazir was visiting relatives in Salehana, a remote village in Nowshera province, with his wife and 28-year-old son Mehboob Alam, when the approach was made.

Today family friend Hassan Ahmed said Mr Wazir refused the offer because his daughters were worried about the language barrier and cultural differences.

As a result, a meeting of four village elders was called and they agreed with the Briton and his wife.

Mr Wazir thought the matter was closed but on Friday three men sprayed bullets at the couple as they chatted over breakfast, Mr Ahmed said.

Their son was forced to run for his life after finding his parents dead.

Mr Ahmed added: 'This was a revenge killing. Everybody has arms on them in this particular area. It's terrible.

'I think the family are after justice now. Their mum and dad have been murdered in cold blood for no real sensible reason and it is very important that the British Government put pressure on the Pakistani police and government to do something about it.'
Gul Wazir and wife Bagum were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote and dangerous Nowshera province

Gul Wazir and wife Bagum were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote and dangerous Nowshera province

West Midlands Police said it was investigating a threat made against one of Mr Wazir's relatives, believed to be another one of his sons, in Birmingham on Friday.

Mehboob Alam has since returned to the UK, while his sisters are described as being safe.

In a similar case last May, Mohammad and Pervaze Yousaf, from Nelson, Lancashire, were gunned down in a graveyard in north-east Pakistan after the arranged marriage of their son Kamar to his cousin broke down, sparking a family dispute.

Councillor Eileen Ansar, of Pendle Borough Council, is related to the Yousaf family.
She said she was concerned about the practice of marrying off British women abroad.

The 45-year-old added: "The girls do it because they are going through the motions and they will lose the respect of their family if they don't go through with it.

'If you are moving well-educated girls from the UK to marry men who are not educated in Pakistan, then it's not going to work as they have nothing in common.

'The families themselves should be looking at their futures as well. The parents should be considering a lot more what they are doing because it's an absolute tragedy what's happened.'

The Foreign Office said it distinguished between forced and arranged marriages. A spokeswoman said its dedicated forced marriages unit dealt with 1,700 cases a year.

It had the ability to send officers to Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to rescue people seeking a way out of a forced marriage, she said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1301826/Son-flees-honour-killing-bloodbath-parents-shot-dead.html#ixzz0wEcU5InI

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She’s 70 years old and has lost count of how many marriages she’s been throughBy Saba Imtiaz
Published: February 13, 2011
Begum Mumtaz admits it’s harder for women over 30 years of age to get married. PHOTO: NEFER SEHGAL/EXPRESS
KARACHI: “Who listens to their parents these days?” asks Qureshi, as she recollects how times have changed since she started matchmaking almost 30 years ago.

Begum Mumtaz Qureshi has run a marriage bureau, Clifton Women Welfare Society, in Karachi since 1982, with offices in Boat Basin and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Her daughter and sister run the business in the US, and she maintains a website — bestrishtay.com.

Despite being 70, she is still one of the most prominent matchmakers in town. Indeed, she has lost count of how many marriages she has arranged over the years. But she does coyly mention that clients have included men who are now high-ranking officials in the military.

She has heard her share of ludicrous requests. “A compounder wanted to marry a doctor with an ambulance and a clinic as a dowry!”

“A lot has changed in terms of marriage trends in Karachi,” Qureshi told The Express Tribune. “Earlier, people would not want to get their sons married to women who worked, or would prefer if they were doctors or teachers, since they worked shorter hours. Now, people want girls who have MBA degrees or who are bankers. Men believe it is easier for them to adjust to someone who understands their career and can mingle with their colleagues and family.”

Qureshi says she tells people to be upfront with families about what they expect and to introduce the couple-to-be to each other. She stresses that people must make inquiries about the family.

“They must investigate everything, from the boy’s background and income to how the family and extended family interact.”

Other trends have also changed in Karachi over the decades. “People do not ask about dowry any more. Nor do they care whether the girl knows how to cook, as compared to the earlier years when women said, ‘We really like having hot chapattis’ or ‘The girl should be proficient at cooking.’”
The growing number of couples getting divorced concerns her greatly. “People do not want to adjust,” Qureshi says. “They instantly want to call it quits. Marriage is not a bed of roses. You tolerate a lot of things your boss says and adjust to a workplace; you have to put the same amount of effort into a marriage. I say this because it is more difficult for girls after they get divorced. Their own friends, these NGO types, encourage them to divorce but do not want to associate with them afterwards.”

According to the 2007 Pakistan Demographic Survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, 9,808 women in Sindh are divorced, compared to 5,787 men.

“People have such double standards though!” she exclaims. “I met a man and his sister. Both of them were divorced and had children, yet they wanted to remarry people who did not have children.”

Also, families are now obsessed with skin colour or how “beautiful” the girl is. “I grade girls based on their personality and looks. Girls today know how to maintain themselves; they can look pretty regardless of how dark or fair-skinned they are.”

Religion still plays a strong factor in arranged marriages. “Let alone marrying a Sunni or a Shia, they now also want someone within a certain sect! How idiotic of them!”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13th, 2011.