SIX of the people who died in the Birkby house fire had been due to return to Pakistan long before the killer inferno - but were delayed by ill-health.

That delay led ultimately to the deaths of Mrs Nafeesa Aziz, 35, and her five daughters.

They had travelled from Pakistan to be with her father, respected former Imam Abdul Aziz Chishti, after he was struck down by a mystery illness.

It was a difficult decision to leave her husband, Rab Nawaz Khan, behind in Pakistan alone where he ran his own printing and stationery company.

But Nafeesa was worried the girls would miss her terribly. They had settled into the local community and three of the girls went to local schools.

Tayyaba, 13, went to Fartown High, 10-year-old Rabia attended Birkby Junior School and six-year-old Ateeqa joined Birkby Infant School.

The family's intention was to stay for just six months, but Nafeesa was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Najeeba, on November 12, 2001 - exactly six months before the fateful fire.

The birth was a difficult one and Nafeesa became ill, so they asked the Home Office for an extension for the stay which was granted for a further six months.

Kirklees Clr Mehboob Khan helped the family to extend the visa.

He said: "If everything had gone to plan, the family would have returned to Pakistan months before the fire.

"As it was, they had been due to leave very shortly afterwards."

The four young girls died in the fire along with their two-year-old sister, Aneesa.

The others who died were Nafeesa's brother, 18-year-old Muhammad Ateeq-ur-Rehman - known as Ateeq - and his mother, 54-year-old Zaib-un-Nisa, Mr Chishti's wife.

She jumped from a first-floor window, but landed badly in the front garden.

She suffered very serious head injuries and died in hospital a week after the fire without regaining consciousness.

Mr Khan then had to make a terrible 4,000-mile journey to this country to mourn his wife and daughters - including one he had never had the chance to see.

He took all eight victims back for burial in Pakistan.