Surprise surprise: Samia Shahid’s ex-husband, father and cousin have failed to show up for a court appearance.

Days after forensic tests by Pakistani police indicated that 28-year-old Samia Shahid was strangled, a lawyer for the three suspects told the court in Jhelum, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, that they were being illegally detained by police.

However, the senior officer in charge of the police station where the murder case has been registered said the trio are on the run.

Oh I’m sure they just forgot to wind the alarm clock.

Malik Ageel, station house officer (SHO) of the Mangla police station in question, denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the accused. “We questioned them when they came in

Confirmed. Samia Shahid was strangled.

Deputy Inspector General Abu Bakr Khuda Bux revealed to the BBC how she died, following the launch of a murder inquiry based on information they got from her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam.

No arrests have been made in the case, he confirmed.

However, Ms Shahid’s father Mohammad and a cousin known as Mobeen have both been interviewed by officers, though neither [has] been detained.

They can’t arrest or interview her first husband until Saturday, when the pre-arrest bail order expires.

Pakistani daily The News revealed the forensic report, released earlier, confirmed Ms Shahid had been murdered and her death had not been from natural causes.

The paper said the report stated clearly her death