Kriti Mehrotra
Although 18-year-old Saman Abbas went missing in the early hours of May 1, 2021, in Novellara, Italy, it wasn’t until a few days later that she was reported missing through a tip. The Pakistani emigrant had a family in the area as well as a loving boyfriend near Rome, yet no one raised any alarms or contacted the authorities until they themselves started asking questions. It eventually came to light that while her family was the one responsible for her disappearance as they had carried out an “honor killing,” her boyfriend, Saquid Ayub, was just a naive young man. All of this has since been carefully chronicled in HBO Max’s ‘Saman: The Hidden Truth,’ along with the ensuing investigation and its aftermath.
Saqib Ayub and Saman Abbas Were Head Over Heels in Love
It was around late fall/early winter 2020 that Saman Abbas first came across Saqib Ayub on social media, only for them to gradually get to know one another via messages and calls. It turned out they were both Pakistani emigrants, but the former arrived in Italy with her family for her father’s blue-collar job, whereas the latter relocated all by himself to secure a better future. As if that’s not enough, by the time they realized they were genuinely falling head over heels and decided to officially begin their romance, they were both residing in local youth communities. He knew she had already been arranged to marry someone back in Pakistan and had left home to escape her parents’ rules, but he didn’t cower.
Saqib actually admired Saman’s bravery and rebellion since he could relate to them to a certain extent, according to the aforementioned series, which only brought them closer together. Neither of them was supposed to share the details of where they were living or how they were doing so as to protect their privacy, but they couldn’t help it as their relationship grew. That’s when they planned to meet, with him traveling all the way from Rome to Reggio Emilia to see her and spend quality time with her without any interruptions from their community members/handlers.
Not Everything Was Sunshine and Roses For Saqib Ayub and Saman Abbas
Among the reported rules Saqib and Saman had was no social media, but they had public accounts, and the former even posted an adorable video of them dancing that ended with a kiss. That’s when everything turned upside down because his girlfriend’s family saw it – they not only disapproved of the couple but were furious as they deemed their behavior disrespectful. According to the show as well as a police complaint, her father allegedly also traveled back to Pakistan, gathered a few loved ones, and visited his family home with rifles in hand to threaten them.
The allegation was severe, but it could not be proven owing to a lack of concrete evidence. So, Saqib, his family, and Saman allegedly continued to be intimidated in the name of honor. As per the show, they even received several calls from her parents urging them to break up using various tactics since she was arranged to marry someone else entirely, but they both refused. In fact, by the time April 2021 rolled around, they had reportedly decided to take the next step themselves and were planning not only a future together but also a legal marriage.
Thus, Saman returned home one day in hopes of retrieving her official documents/papers that her parents kept locked, only for them to somehow convince her to stay for a few days. She didn’t think much of their request for her to stay, even after some fights in the days to follow, and a conversation she overheard about honor killings because she was told she was not the target. In some of the last messages she sent Saqib, she indicated she was scared before backing down and stating she could handle her family. They then also had a bad fight over his suddenly keeping his distance and her belief that he didn’t care about her nearly as much as he had indicated he did.
Saqib Ayub Now Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life in Italy Alongside His Family
Saqib had no idea that his fight with Saman would be the last time he would ever talk to her, since she was murdered less than 18 hours later. The fact that he didn’t contact the police after not hearing from her in the ensuing days did raise some eyebrows, but he was cleared of any suspicion pretty early on. According to the show, his strange behavior in the days leading up to the incident and afterward was just him trying to do his best in his own way. The police hypothesized that he had indeed started keeping Saman at a distance because he was protecting his family back in Pakistan from any perceived threats.
As for Saqib’s public interviews while investigations were ongoing, it was likely because he wanted to ensure her case was kept in the limelight and she was seen in an empathetic light. However, once her family was arrested and justice was served, he moved away from the public eye for privacy and protective reasons. He had received significant public backlash, and he reportedly still feared retaliatory threats against him and his family from Saman’s family, so he made his concerns clear. Therefore, the Italian Security Services and the Consulate in Islamabad coordinated an extraction operation, and in April 2023, his father, mother, and siblings were safely flown out of Pakistan to Italy. Since then, it appears as if Saqib and his family have all been residing in Italy under the nation’s protective care laws.
Read More: Danish Hasnain: Where is Saman Abbas’ Uncle and Killer Now?
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