Christian bride tortured to death by her husband in Pak's Punjab

A Christian bride was allegedly tortured to death by her husband under mysterious circumstances a day after their marriage in Pakistan's Punjab province. Sawera Maqbool, 30, got married to Asif Jan of Shama Colony, a thickly-populated area of Lahore on Saturday last. The next day, she was found dead in her bedroom.

According to the first information report (FIR) lodged by her brother Suleman Masih, Sawera was subjected to "severe torture" by her husband Asif Jan and his family members. "When we visited Jan's house the next morning of the couple's wedding to deliver them traditional breakfast we were told that Sawera was rushed to hospital as she was not well.

"Upon reaching the hospital, doctors pronounced her dead and declared it is a police case due to bruises on parts of her body," Masih told police. Police officer Abdur Rashid told PTI that police are investigating the case on different lines.

"The body has been sent for an autopsy that will ascertain the exact cause of her death," he said, adding it is an unusual case. "Whether she was poisoned after torture or she had a cardiac arrest…autopsy will determine this," he said.

Rashid said that Jan has been taken into custody and is being interrogated.