Brave teenager survives after being shot and dumped in a canal by her own family

Saba Maqsood, 18, was shot twice, stuffed into a sack and thrown into a canal by her family, all because she married the man she loved.

But, thankfully, the brave teenager has survived the botched 'honour killing' and is now recovering in hospital.

Ali Akbar, a spokesman for police in Hafizabad, Punjab province, revealed to the press that the young girl had been viciously attacked by her father, uncle, brother and aunt because she had married the man she loved.

He said: "The victim, Saba... married her neighbour Muhammad Qaiser for love five days ago against the wishes of her family.

"They took her to Hafizabad, shot her twice and threw her in the canal after putting her in a sack, presuming that she was dead."

He added that 18-year-old Saba was wounded in her cheek and her right hand but, after a few minutes in the canal water, she regained consciousness and struggled to the bank.

Praising the teen for her bravery, he said: "She is a brave girl. She came out of the canal and approached a nearby fuel station from where a rescue team rushed her to hospital."

Mr Akbar said he had recorded a statement from Saba, in which she blamed her family for the attack.

She reportedly said: "I was tortured and shot by my father Maqsood Ahmad, brother Faisal Maqsood, uncle Ashfaq Ahmad and his wife Sajida Bibi."

Mr Akbar added: "Her condition is out of danger and we have registered a case against her family on her complaint."

Police have raided her father's home in the nearby city of Gujranwala but all the suspects had disappeared.