Lahore: Pakistani police exhumed the body of an Italian woman of Pakistani descent on Wednesday to investigate whether her family killed her in the name of honour after she refused to marry a man of their choice.

Sana Cheema, 25, who lived in Brescia, Italy, was visiting relatives in Pakistan this month when her family said she died after suffering from "chronic ulcer and hypertension", said police official Asad Gujjar. The incident took place in Kunja, Gujrat, 150km from lahore.

Social media activists in Pakistan highlighted the case this week, citing Italian media reports that Cheema might have been killed by her family after she refused to marry the man they wanted her to.

"Police have taken samples from her stomach and sent them for forensic examination," Gujjar said. He said there were no apparent injury marks on her body.

Cheema's father and some relatives had been summoned for police questioning, he said, adding that no arrest had been made.

The family could not be reached for comment and no immediate comment was available from the Italian embassy.

Hundreds of women and girls are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to "honour"? that can involve eloping, fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative values relating to women, rights groups said.

The Pakistani parliament passed legislation against "honour killings"?in 2016, introducing tough punishment and removing a loophole in the law that allowed killers to walk free if pardoned by family members. Police in Punjab said recently the number of cases of honour killing had fallen since the law was introduced.