Court sentences Sania Zahra’s husband to death for her murder

MULTAN: An additional district and sessions judge has awarded death sentence to the husband of Sania Zahra who was murdered last year.

On July 9, 2024, Sania Zahra, a mother of two, was found dead, hanging from a ceiling fan in her room.

Her father, Syed Asad Abbas Shah, had accused her in-laws of his daughter’s sudden death as they attempted to descibe it as a suicide.

Based on the deceased’s father’s complaint, an FIR was registered at New Multan Police Station.

On November 18, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohsin Ali Khan declared that Syed Muhammad Ali Raza, the husband of the deceased, had been proven guilty of murdering Sania Zahra. He was sentenced to death under Section 302(b) of the PPC.

The court order stated that “Syed Muhammad Ali Raza, the convict, should be hanged until death occurs.”

The court also directed the convict to pay Rs500,000 in compensation to the victim’s family under and failure to do so would result in six months’ additional imprisonment.

In a separate ruling, the court also held the main convict’s brother Syed Haider Raza and mother Syeda Azra Parveen responsible for Sania Zahra’s murder. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs500,000 each to the victim’s family.

Sania Zahra case background

In early July, 20-year-old Sania Zahra was murdered in Multan.

On  July14, her post-mortem report was released, which statied that marks on her neck were consistent with hanging and her death occurred due to asphyxiation. The report noted that her neck bone was not broken and there were no injuries or signs of violence on her body.

Samples from her stomach, liver, and spleen were sent to PFSA for further analysis, which confirmed that she was not pregnant at the time of death.

Forensic experts noted that the rope around her neck came off very easily when tested.

Based on the complaint by her father, the police registered a case against her husband Ali Raza, his brother Ali Haider, father Jeevan Shah, mother Azra, sister Kanwal Bibi, and sister-in-law Syeda Dua.

On July 20, Multan police arrested Ali Raza, the husband and main suspect in the suicide-turned-murder case of Sania Zahra, who was the daughter of religious leader Syed Asad Abbas.