A Brit whose mum faces a possible death penalty after being accused of ordering the murder of her husband in Pakistan has launched a campaign to clear her name. Yasmin Kausar, 62, is being detained in a 'hell hole' after the charred remains of her husband of 23 years Mohammad Farooq, 65, were found in a car at a rubbish dump.
Police believe Mr Farooq from Headingley, Leeds, was strangled at the family's Pakistan home in a town near Rawalpindi in the Punjab. His body was then put in a car and driven to a rubbish dump around 27 miles away where the vehicle was set alight.
HIs charred boy was found at the dump at Morgah, near Islamabad, on April 1. Police last week said they believed Yasmin was in a relationship with one of her co-accused, Abdul Waheed, 22, who was arrested alongside Abdul Idrees, 24.
But Yasmin's Bashir, 38, branded the claims as “nonsense” and said her mother had been framed for the murder, which is punishable by the death penalty in Pakistan. And she has hit back at claims by police probing the murder that her mum was in a relationship with one of the men accused of the slaying.
Speaking from her home in Leeds, West Yorks., a tearful Saima said: “My mum is 100 per cent innocent. She was married to my step dad for 23 years, they had a loving relationship. They were like soul mates, they were best friends. There’s no way my mum would have done this.
“There’s no toy boy, there’s nothing like that. Her oldest grandchild is 19, there’s no way she would have been having a relationship with someone young enough to be her grandson.”
Mr Farooq’s body was found on April 1 and Yasmin was held by cops in Rawalpindi on April 4, who then released a statement to local media saying they had ‘solved’ the murder. Saima, who herself is undergoing treatment for cancer, said she fears for her mother’s safety in the prison where she he is being held on remand ahead of a court appearance next week.
She claims her mother – who has Type 2 diabetes – was withheld her medication when she was first arrested and was beaten and tortured in prison. And while they have been told she now has access to her medication, she fears her mother’s health is deteriorating such a rate she may die in prison.
Saima added: “They’ve arrested my mum and on the second day, they’ve tried to interrogate mum to make her confess that she’s killed him. She’s been subjected to mental and physical abuse since her arrest. It’s very scary, she faces the death penalty, but she’s probably close to death as it is.
“On Thursday, my uncle in Pakistan made contact with her and he said she’s lost a lot of weight and she’s very weak.”
While Mr Farooq, a wealthy businessman, lived in a £1.5 million house in a plush area of Leeds, Yasmin lived with her daughter in a more modest, £180,000 home in another part of the city. Saima said the accusation that her mum stood to gain financially from the death of her husband was “rubbish” as her inheritance would have been minimal compared to other relatives.
Saima: “It’s Ramadan, it’s supposed to be the month of blessing. We don’t know what day it is, we don’t know what time it is. We’ve not slept for days. I’m not eating. It’s a living nightmare.”
“We’ve not been able to grieve his death. I was very young when they got married, we had a really close relationship, he’s been a father figure to me. We had a really good connection.
“It must be the quickest a murder has ever been solved in history. It just doesn’t add up. We just want justice for Mr Farooq and we want justice for my mum. We can’t get justice for one without the other. We want them to solve the murder and we want our mum home safe.”
Yasmin’s son Sajid Bashir flew out to Pakistan to visit her a week after her arrest and said he was horrified to see first hand the conditions she was being kept in. He said: “She told me she hadn’t done it. I asked her if they’d hit her and she said she’s been beaten, she started crying and I hugged her.
“We’re distraught, upset and we feel helpless. It’s been exhausting. We want the UK government to get involved and see that her human rights have been adhered to.”
Bradford West MP Naz Shah was contacted by one of Yasmin’s children and the Labour politician has written to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to raise concerns about the case. In the letter, she highlights the family’s concerns about the investigation’s credibility and a recording taken by Sajid of a conversation with a police officer which suggests Yasmin has been framed.
Sajid has launched a petition calling for the British government to contact the authorities in Pakistan.
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