'We feel ashamed': Pakistani relatives of California shooter

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Tashfeen Malik.
Tashfeen Malik.

Karor Lal Esan, Pakistan - Tashfeen's father Gulzar Malik, an engineer, had grown distant from his family and "he never came back even to attend the marriages of close relatives", added Aulakh.

By AFP

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Published: Mon 7 Dec 2015, 8:39 AM

Last updated: Mon 7 Dec 2015, 10:44 AM

Estranged relatives of a Pakistani woman involved in a mass shooting in California spoke on Sunday of their shame at her crimes, as former classmates and teachers painted a picture of a quiet, conservative student.
Tashfeen Malik, 29, and her husband Syed Farook, 28, gunned down 14 people at a social services centre in San Bernardino, an act praised by Daesh who hailed the couple as "soldiers".
According to her uncle Malik Ahmed Ali Aulakh, who is a former provincial minister, Tashfeen was born in the village of Karor Lal Esan in the central province of Punjab but moved to Saudia Arabia around 1989.
Tashfeen's father Gulzar Malik, an engineer, had grown distant from his family and "he never came back even to attend the marriages of close relatives", added Aulakh.
"We are ashamed and shocked about this act done by our niece - why did she do something so gruesome? We can't believe it," he told AFP.
Malik Omar Ali Aulakh, another of her uncles, added: "We have not kept in touch with Gulzar's family and he avoided contacting us."
A Pakistani intelligence agent told AFP they had conducted a search Saturday of a second family home in the region's main city of Multan, around 130 miles (200 kilometres) northwest of their ancestral village, but found nothing of interest.
A fellow student who requested anonymity told AFP that Malik lived in university accommodation for two years before moving into a house with her mother and another sister, also a student.
Pakistan's government on Sunday issued a statement condemning the attack, even as its interior minister said Islamabad could not be held responsible.
"We have contacted the US government and assured them we will provide them whatever legal assistance possible, if asked," Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters in Islamabad.
But, he added: "A country or a national or a religion cannot be held responsible for a crime committed by an individual and I appreciate a wise approach adopted by the US administration on the issue."


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