Love and death in Pakistan: how British woman died in suicide attack

Chance encounter on train led Belinda Khan to one of world's most dangerous places
Saeed and Belinda Khan
British woman Belinda Khan with her Pakistani husband Saeed. She was killed in a suicide bomb attack this week PR

The story began with a chance meeting on a train between a British care worker and a young Pakistani chef. It ended in tragedy this week when Belinda Khan was among eight people killed by a suicide bomber in a marketplace in troubled northern Pakistan.

Yesterday relatives and friends told the tragic story of how Khan, a 44-year-old woman from Cardiff, came to be in one of the world's most dangerous places. They described how her relationship with pizza chef Yahya Khan ended when he was shot dead in Pakistan by the Taliban two years ago, and how she married Yahya's younger brother, Saeed, just a fortnight before she was caught up in the suicide bomber's attack.

Saeed, 25, also spoke of the horror of the moment when he and his new wife were caught in the terrorist bombing as they paused for a snack at a market in the Swat valley in the country's North-West Frontier province.

He said he wished he could have died with his bride. "Me and my family are missing her very much," he said. "She was a brave woman and gave a lot of love to me and my family members."

Belinda's journey to the Swat Valley began some five years ago when she stepped on to a train in the UK and met Yahya Khan. Their backgrounds were very different.

Belinda was born in Cardiff maternity hospital and her family were industrious working-class people. Her grandfather Frank was a boatman while Belinda's father, Terence, was a steelworker and a hospital porter.

Belinda, who has an older sister and younger brother, attended Glan Ely high school and afterwards became a care worker. Her father died young and in June 1991 Belinda married her school sweetheart, Clive Gardiner, at St David's church in Cardiff.

Belinda and Clive, who worked on the railways, moved to a bungalow not far from Barry Island. Belinda enjoyed gardening and the couple would take trips to the seafront when the weather was fine. They had no children.

Like many young Pakistani men, Yahya Khan had come to the UK three years before he met Belinda to help support his family, who lived in the village of Kuza Bandai in the Swat valley.

It is a beautiful place, with high mountains, meadows, lakes and rivers. But it has also been a place of bloody clashes between Taliban insurgents and the Pakistani military.

Despite the different worlds they came from and a 15-year age gap, Yahya and Belinda became close. Her marriage with Clive broke down at around this time. Yahya's family say Belinda converted to Islam and married Yahya.

They lived mainly in south Wales, though Belinda is understood to have also visited Pakistan, and the Khan family say they were impressed by how she adopted Islamic customs and was even saving money to travel to Mecca.

But tragedy struck in August 2008 when Yahya, then 29, visited Pakistan. According to the Khan family, he was at a bus stop travelling back to Kuza Bandai when he was given a lift by a local politician. Half a mile from home the car was ambushed by Taliban gunmen.

The politician, who was believed to be the target, Yahya and two others were shot dead. Their bodies were found the next morning. The Khan family advised Belinda not to travel to Pakistan because of the Taliban presence in the area.

Belinda moved from Cardiff to the village of Ynyshir, near Pontypridd, in the Rhondda Valley. She lived in a small terrace house and planted a red flower in her garden in memory of Yahya.

According to the Khans, Belinda began to exchange texts with Yahya's younger brother Saeed, who is now 25. In Pakistan it is not unusual for a widow to marry her late husband's brother. Belinda agreed to marry Saeed but he could not get permission to travel to Britain. He said: "She was willing to marry me after the death of my brother as I was in contact with her. I tried twice to get the UK visa and she even sponsored me but it was fruitless. Then she decided to come to Pakistan to take me with her to the UK."

Extracts from Belinda's journal that Saeed showed to the Guardian reveal excitement and trepidation as the day of departure approached. Of the Khan family, she wrote: "How I've missed them all. It's going to be strange not seeing my Yahya." Just before she left she wrote: "I'm down to one day and my nerves have kicked in."

Belinda arrived in Pakistan on February 8. Saeed said she had brought him gifts – anti-malarial tablets, a Collins English dictionary and a pair of boots. Saeed said they were married on February 9 in a simple nikkah (an Islamic marriage ceremony) and exchanged rings.

He said she covered her head and said prayers five times a day. Saeed read verses from the Qur'an to her. He said Belinda would tell him that he could seek solace in the Qur'an when he was upset. Saeed said: "I appreciate her love for us and Islam as she came to have a second life with me."

Last Monday, February 22, Saeed said Belinda got up after a poor night's sleep and seemed sad. To cheer her up he took her to a picnic spot in the hills. Saeed said he told "Bel" that he loved her more than 1,000 times that day.

By late afternoon they were heading home and reached the market at Mingora, the region's biggest town. Saeed got out of the car to fetch food for his wife – she enjoyed biryani rice and mutton tikka. Not far behind them was a group of army vehicles.

As Saeed went to fetch food a huge explosion rocked the market. "Belinda was sitting in the back seat of my car," said Saeed. "I looked back and saw that she was silent." He said he tried to speak to her but she did not reply. Her nose and ears were "full of blood". He tried to pull her out of the car when a gas canister in the car exploded. The car filled with flames and both Belinda's and Saeed's clothes caught fire.

"I cried for help but nobody was there to help me," said Saeed. Eventually he was assisted by a passing ambulance crew and the pair were taken to hospital. Doctors tried to revive Belinda but without success.

It fell to Saeed to break the news to Belinda's family in the UK. He says they agreed that she could be buried in his home village according to local customs.

Belinda's family in Cardiff have been too upset to speak. Her former husband Clive paid tribute to a "wonderful" woman. "She loved caring for people," he said. "It is a hell of a shock. I didn't even know she was out there. They have held her funeral over there so I don't even have anywhere to go and lay flowers. I loved her to bits."

Friends added their tributes on a website. "Belinda was a great friend and work colleague. A tragic loss of a great person," one said, adding: "Bel, re-united at last RIP."

There was shock in Pakistan. One reader of a news website wrote: "She left her country, her family and everything she had for us and this is how we pay them back."

The Foreign Office advises against travel to Swat. "There are ongoing reports of military or militant activity," its latest advice states.

Last year Amnesty International said the Taliban was guilty of "serious human rights abuses" in the Swat valley, including "the unlawful killing of scores of government workers as well as those whom they view as violating their edicts".

It reported: "The Taliban have publicly whipped men for shaving their beards, destroyed shops for selling music and forcibly prohibited women from leaving their houses unless escorted by a male relative."

There have been reports that the police in Pakistan have questioned Saeed over his marriage but he denies this. The marriage, he insists, was a genuine one, not a tactic to get to the UK.

About 1,200 people attended Belinda's funeral. A friend of the family, Jahangir Khan, 33, said: "We appreciate her efforts to come and rejoin this society after the death of her first Pakistani husband." Belinda Khan is buried in the village in a grave decorated with tinsel. A poster placed on it reads: "We are proud of Belinda."

Sajjad Ali, Saeed's 16-year-old brother, said Belinda had become a "role model" for the family. "She gave a lot of love to each individual and told us that she would remain with us until her last breath. This promise she fulfilled."