The family claimed she died a natural death. She then married Kazim of Taxila in September 2014 and both started living in Dubai.
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Ghazanfar said a local police chief has been suspended for mishandling the case and allowing Shahid’s mother and sister to flee the country.
The station house officer (SHO) of the Jhelum police station has also been arrested for showing negligence in handling the British-Pakistani woman’s murder on July 20.
Shahid’s second husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, told CNN he believed his wife was killed in a so-called honor killing, because her family disapproved of their marriage.
But a post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of being strangled.
The murder would have gone unnoticed but British MP Naz Shah in a letter alerted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that it could be a case of honour killing following which Shahid’s father Muhammad Shahid and ex-husband Muhammad Shakil were arrested. Mr Kazim has also accused Ms Shahid’s family of luring her back to Pakistan by claiming her father was critically ill.
Relatives told him she died of a sudden heart attack or asthma attack after she was buried in a village graveyard.
According to reports in Daily Mail, Samia Shahid, who was visiting her relatives in Punjab, was strangled by her first husband using a scarf.
A full investigation into her death only began after Mr Kazam raised the alarm with friends in the UK.
Aqeel Abbas is being held for allegedly trying to hide evidence relating to Ms Shahid’s death.
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Her murder came over a week after social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her brother “for disgracing” family honour which caused worldwide uproar forcing the Pakistani government to announce the introduction of strict legislation against those involved in honour killings.
