’He wanted to be a father so much’

The pregnant widow of murdered Shahzad Ali has revealed her heartache over losing her 'soulmate' and revealed he had dreamed of children

'He wanted to be a father so much'

Pregnant widow of Shahzad Ali, who died in the Birmingham riots tying to save others, vows to tell child of her father's heroic feat

The businessman was overjoyed when he found out wife Khansa, was expecting their first child.

Men raise a sign for Shahzad Ali, his brother and friend who died
in a hit-and-run during the riots. Shahzad and his mom at his wedding

But their dreams of starting a family life together were shattered when Shahzad, his brother Abdul Musavir and their friend Haroon Jahan were murdered defending their community in Winson Green.

The men died after being hit by a car in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after the second night of rioting in the city.

A distraught Khansa said, "He wanted to be a father so much. I cherished Shahzad. He was my soulmate, I am devastated he has gone.

I'm heartbroken. He wanted to be a father so much and started making plans about how our child would be brought up straight away."

Khansa and Shahzad married in Pakistan in April 2010 in a traditional Muslim wedding.

The four months pregnant widow explained how selfless her late husband was."Shahzad was so loving, we would always have so much fun together."

Shahzad's momu00a0 Begum described the tragic night how her sons had met with community members to gather near a petrol station on Dudley Road so they could protect their area.

"They were worried about the safety of the community and the businesses after they heard that one of the betting shops had had a window broken," she said. "They just wanted to be strong for their community."

But despite their hopes of a peaceful night, the brothers and their friend were killed when they were hit by a car.

Begum said the family have strong faith in the justice system to track down those responsible for the death of her beloved boys.

"We believe those responsible will be punished, but will their sentence be harsh enough," she wondered.

Racist comments
A petition demanding a public apology from historian David Starkey has been circulated online after he blamed 'black culture' for initiating the riots, while controversially adding that in today's society 'whites have become black'. He even said that there was no comparison between a black Tottenham MP and a white person.

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