Pregnant Pakistani woman killed in cold blood by mother-in-law

In a shocking incident, a pregnant woman in Pakistan was allegedly murdered by her mother-in-law and three accomplices. According to police, her body was dismembered into dozens of pieces and dumped in a drain in Punjab province.

The crime occurred last week in Daska, Sialkot district, which is approximately 100 km from Lahore.

A murder case has been filed against the suspects, and four individuals have been arrested in connection with the crime. The arrested include the mother-in-law, Sughran Bibi; her daughter, Yasmin; her grandson, Hamza; and a distant relative, Navid.

Senior police officer Omar Farooq informed reporters that the suspects have confessed to killing Zara and dismembering her body.

Zara Qadir, a woman in her 20s, went missing last week, and later, police discovered her dismembered body in three sacks, which was identified as hers.

Zara, who was the daughter of a police officer, had married Qadir Ahmad four years ago, and they had a three-year-old son. She went to Saudi Arabia after her marriage and returned to Pakistan only a few months ago.

Farooq said, "In her confessional statement, Sughran Bibi said that she suspected Zara of allegedly practicing 'witchcraft,' and besides, her son Qadir had started sending money directly to Zara's bank account instead of to his mother."

He added that the four suspects smothered the pregnant Zara with a pillow while she was asleep and then proceeded to burn her face. Then, they dismembered her body into dozens of pieces before dumping it in a drain in three sacks.

"Based on Zara's father's statement, where he suspected Sughran after she claimed Zara had run away with her lover upon her disappearance, we interrogated Sughran, who confessed to her crime," Farooq said.

He mentioned that Sughran was also Zara's paternal aunt.

Farooq stated that this was a case of extreme jealousy, as the mother-in-law and her daughter not only killed Zara but also dismembered her body out of hatred. He added that Sughran and Yasmin believed Zara's good looks were causing Qadir to favor her and ignore them in the process.