Birmingham dad gunned down trying to protect his family

Jan 22 2012 by Anuji Varma, Sunday Mercury

A BRAVE Birmingham dad was shot dead in Pakistan as he desperately tried to protect his family, his widow revealed last night.

Azhar Iqbal, 39, from Stechford, was shot in the stomach as he wrestled with two masked men in front of his wife Rubana Mukhtar and stepdaughter Maha Munir as they returned from a shopping trip.

The gunmen confronted the family on a street in Rawalpindi, north Pakistan, demanding their valuables. But after Azhar handed over a mobile phone, he tried to fight the thieves off.

Speaking from Pakistan, distraught Rubana, 34, told the Sunday Mercury: “Azhar wasn’t scared when those men confronted us. He tried to push them away and died trying to protect me and Maha.