After exposing her plans to return to Australia with her three children, an Australian woman residing in Pakistan was allegedly murdered with an axe by her father-in-law.
According to BBC Urdu, Sajida Tasneem, 38, was compelled by her husband, Ayub Ahmad, to leave their house in Perth and relocate to Pakistan.
On June 11, the engineer was allegedly gagged and slain at the home she shared with her in-laws near Sargodha in Pakistan’s north.
Her killing, which allegedly occurred in front of her own father, was purportedly the result of an argument with her father-in-law about her wish to return to Australia to provide a better education for her children.
After she revealed her intentions, he confiscated the family’s passports before allegedly attacking her with an axe.
Ms Tasneem’s husband, who is also an engineer, was reportedly working in Bahrain at the time.
Police in Punjab have confirmed one person had been arrested and charged with Ms Tasneem’s murder.
Tributes have begun pouring in online for the beloved mother, who leaves behind a son and two daughters – the youngest of whom is just three years old.
‘I don’t know how to comprehend my pain,’ friend Nazia Mesia said.
‘Sajida is someone who was always ready to help , positive and beautiful soul.
‘You are in our heart and I will always cherish our memories and beautiful moments we had together.’
Ms Tasneem’s devastated father Sher Muhammad Khan told BBC Urdu his family had been ‘wronged’.
‘My daughter’s only fault was that she came to Pakistan after being seduced by her husband. This was disliked by the in-laws and husband Ayub,’ he said.
‘She wanted her children to get a higher education in Australia and not see the deprivations of life that are with us.’
One woman reported that the children are currently in the care of Ms Tasneem’s family in Pakistan.
She said the children are ‘traumatised’ and ‘still adjusting’ to the tragic event last week and their new lives without their mother.
In an eerie coincidence, Ms Tasneem penned a post a year before her death out women being killed by their ‘brothers, father or husband’.
‘God knows how long this law of horror and ignorance will continue here, not the jungle,’ she wrote.
‘Why is it that a woman is killed every time in the name of honour?’
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had made contact with the family to offer their condolences.
‘The family is being provided consular assistance,’ the spokesperson said.
