Posted on 08/08/2010 9:53:38 AM PDT by Cardhu
A couple from Birmingham have been murdered in Pakistan in a suspected "honour killing".
They have been named as Gul Wazir and his wife Bagum.
They had reportedly travelled to the country to resolve a dispute over a wedding and were gunned down in the village of Salehana in the remote Nowshera province.
He is understood to have worked as a taxi driver in Birmingham and lived in the Alum Rock area of the city.
West Midlands Police has confirmed the deaths, adding that a murder inquiry is already being carried out by the Pakistani authorities.
The couple have already been buried and the Foreign Office is providing consular assistance to the family.
Sky News' correspondent Robin Powell is in Birmingham.
"We understand this happened as long ago as Monday but the news only just came through because of flooding in that area," he said.
"It seems that their daughter was due to marry a man in Pakistan. She decided to call off the wedding so they went over to try to resolve the dispute.
"Apparently this man, according to a witness, went crazy and shot them.
"He also shot their son, who was wounded but survived, and is in hospital in north west Pakistan."
Muslim Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood has condemned the double murder.
He said: "I'm very disappointed and shocked by this act. Honour killing is absolutely absurd in this day and age."
Parents living in Britain need to make sure that their children are happy with any marriage arrangements they make, he warned.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
In his case he made out like a bandit. A short skinny four-eyed geek, (PhD in physics from a Lousiana school) who ended up with a rather attractive bride, the curvy Indian sort of attractive, with a Master's degree in Chemistry or ChemE. She later got another master's in accounting at a US school. Two kids. Very smart kids.
I had a similar co-worker I knew quite well. A lot depends on what is expected out of marriage. Far to many in the West think marriage supposed to be one long hot honeymoon or ultra-extended date. And mass media feeds us this foolish ideal constantly, when they’re not tearing the family.
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