Three gunned down in family feud over arranged marriage

THREE members of the same British family were gunned down in Pakistan after a disastrous arranged marriage ended in murder.

Father-of-six Mohammad Yousaf, 51, his wife Pervaze Yousaf, 49, and their 22-year-old daughter Tania, had left the UK to attend the wedding of a son in Pakistan surrounded by family and friends.

But they were shot dead just days after the happy ceremony while paying respects at a family graveyard.

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Last night members of the devastated family, from Nelson, in Lancashire, were being comforted by relatives, while Tania's two young boys, Harris, aged nine months, and three-year-old Arien, were being looked after by relatives in Pakistan.

The funeral of all three family members took place yesterday and prayers were said as local men gathered for afternoon worship at the Jamia Masjid Minhaj-Ul-Quran Mosque in Nelson, which Mr Yousaf attended.

The Yousafs were in the country for the wedding of son Asad, 24, when they were attacked on Thursday morning in a village in Gujrat, north-east Pakistan.

The attack, which also left another woman dead, is being linked to a family feud.

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Two of the alleged gunmen were arrested and police were hunting another two suspects in connection with the attack.

A family member in Nelson, who was among 200 guests at the wedding, said: "Everybody was enjoying themselves at the wedding and the family were visiting the graves of relatives in the village when they were shot.

"Asad got back the day before it happened. He is obviously in shock, crying, disgusted."

The relative, who did not want to be named, said the feud was sparked by the breakdown of the arranged marriage of another son of Mr Yousaf, Kamar, who wed his cousin.

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The couple had two children, both girls, before they split up, with the wife moving from the family home to Manchester.

Mr Yousaf, a taxi-driver and builder, like many of his extended family, comes from the town of Jaurah, in Pakistan.

Inter-marriage among first and second cousins and arranged weddings are common, according to local people.

Eileen Ansar, who is married to Mr Yousaf's cousin Mohammed, said most of the family went to Pakistan for Asad's wedding and Mr and Mrs Yousaf had stayed on for a few days.

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"It is an absolute tragedy. You could not meet nicer people – they never did harm to anyone. It has destroyed the family," she said.

Ms Ansar, a councillor in Nelson, said around 70 members of the extended family flew out to Pakistan following news of the deaths.

Family friend Mohammed Iqbal, who sits on Lancashire County Council, said: "It was a family dispute that obviously went horribly wrong."

He added: "They went for a wedding and a holiday and they are now having to bury members of their family."

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Tania Yousaf was employed as a clerical assistant at business solutions firm Liberata, based at Pendle Business Centre in Nelson.

Her manager Wendy Smith said: "Tania was a hardworking and conscientious member of the team who was always happy and one of the nicest people we have ever met.

"She had a lovely sense of humour and was always a team player.

"We are extremely shocked by this and our deepest sympathies go out to the family.

"She will be very sadly missed."

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Ms Yousaf had been granted a month's annual leave for her visit to Pakistan and was due to return to work next week.

Lancashire police said officers were providing support to family members in Nelson and were working with Pakistani authorities.

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