A man from Britain has been shot dead in an “execution style” shooting in Pakistan. Mohammed Anwar Zeb, aged 51, was murdered at his home in a remote village in Swat Valley, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) in the north of the country.
Known as Anwar, he moved from Manchester to live in Shingardar, but it was in the early hours of Sunday March 16 at his home in the tiny village when he was killed.
Now his heartbroken sister Alaia, who he regularly visited in Didsbury has appealed for help to find out exactly why he was killed and to bring the killers to justice. Alaia said: “It is devastating. It is shocking. It is like something you only see in movies. I am trying to come to terms with what has happened. I have been sent pictures of the gunshot wound to his head. I am traumatised by them. It has been in the news over there with pictures of my brother lying there. My heart is broken.
“What has happened is that his dogs have been poisoned and then he has been taken to the back of his house and killed in one shot to the back of the head. He was then left in a ditch behind the house.”
She was alerted to the murder via a phone from a relative in Pakistan, she said: “I have constantly been in touch with the police in Pakistan. He had two dogs that he trained as guard dogs; they were poisoned and died. I asked the police there if they had sent the dogs off for forensics to establish what had happened to them and they said it would be expensive – I told them I would pay.
“The dogs were gull dong – a Pakistani breed – and they were his babies. He had trained them very well. He lived in a very small village with just a few houses and no one heard anything.
“Anwar lived in a very rural area. My brother was buried within two to three hours and there does not appear to have been any autopsy. Anwar had a wife but they were separated. He never had any kids. A week before he passed he messaged me to say he was going to return to Manchester. He said he wanted to renew his passport and was going to come back for a month.
“My dad passed away in 2011 and he had property that needed to be dealt with and there were ongoing issues. He had been living abroad since 2017 as he had court cases regarding my father’s assets. He was living in my dad’s house on his own. My dad had three or four houses. Anwar would stay at either my home in Didsbury or my sister’s house also in Didsbury when he visited.
“My last conversation with him was on February 4th and then I got a text message on Friday March 7th saying he was coming and would stay for a couple of months. No one is helping me. I have hit a brick wall. I have lost eight pounds in the space of a week,” reports Manchester Evening News.
She continued: “I have received no help – I have been told because he passed in Pakistan the UK Police government does not get involved. I am hitting a brick wall. My brother had a lot of depression and was not working. He had a younger brother who committed suicide and he was the person who found him. After that he just couldn’t cope.
“I am reaching out to request media coverage for the tragic and brutal murder of my beautiful brother. Despite the severity of this crime, justice has yet to be served, and our family is desperate for answers.”We are calling for pressure to be put on the relevant authorities into conducting a thorough and transparent investigation. Given the circumstances of his death and the growing concerns for the safety of British nationals abroad, this case warrants immediate public and governmental scrutiny.
“The nearest police station to where it happened is a tiny one with two officers. It is like a small hut. The Foreign Office through Interpol have been in touch with them.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are providing support to the family of a British man who died in Pakistan and are in contact with the local authorities.”
