Australian woman Sajida Tasneem killed in Pakistan
An Australian woman has reportedly been killed by her father-in-law in Pakistan amid a rift to bring her children back to Australia.
The BBC reports that Sajida Tasneem, 32, wanted to return to Australia with her three children for a better education, something her in-laws opposed.
Her father, Sher Muhammad Khan, told police his daughter was killed in front of him by in the Sargodha district of Punjab.
The Age says it has verified a copy of the police report by Khan that accuses his daughter’s father-in-law, Mukhtar Ahmad, of murdering his daughter using an axe.
It’s understood local police have made an arrest.
According to a translation of a BBC report in Urdu, Tasneem studied engineering in Karachi and married in Pakistan in 2011. A few months later the couple moved to Saudi Arabia, where their son was born. In 2013 Tasneem took a job in Perth and moved to Australia, where she gave birth to two daughters.
Her husband did not continue working in Australia and eventually took a job in Bahrain while his wife and her three children remained in Australia, where they had all received Australian citizenship, the BBC says
At her husband’s insistence, she eventually returned to Pakistan, where it’s alleged her father-in-law confiscated their passports.
“It simply came to our notice then that Sajida Tasneem had made a mistake, which resulted in her losing her life,” Khan told the BBC, according to a translation of the interview.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told The Age consular assistance was being provided to the family.
Khan told the newspaper that his daughter was humble, polite and respecting of her elders and colleagues.
“She sacrificed her life for the good sake of her children,” he said.
“But she lost without achieving her goal.”
