Sara Inam murder case: Shahnawaz Amir sentenced to death

ISLAMABAD: Shahnawaz Amir, husband of Sara Inam and son of renowned journalist Ayaz Amir has been sentenced to death for murdering his wife.

Sara, a Canadian national, was murdered by Shahnawaz, her husband and son of renowned journalist Ayaz Amir, in Islamabad a year ago.

A district and sessions court in Islamabad announced the verdict in the Sara Inam murder case on Thursday and imposed a penalty of Rs1 million, as rights activists call for justice for the victim.

Sessions Judge Nasir Javaid Rana delivered the verdict which was reserved last week on December 9.  

Sameena Shah, nominated as co-accused in the case, was acquitted by the court.

Shahnawaz was arrested on Sept 23 last year at a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Shahzad Town. Sara was reportedly murdered just a day after she arrived in the country from Dubai where she had been working. The accused was initially remanded to police custody a day after his arrest and the period of his physical remand was extended several times.

His father was discharged from the case and his mother Sameena Shah, nominated as co-accused in the case, was granted post-arrest bail in November last year.

On December 5, both Shahnawaz and his mother were indicted in the case.

In January, Dr Bushra Ashraf, who conducted Sara’s post-mortem examination, told an Islamabad court that the victim had multiple fractures on her head.

In July, Shahnawaz’s lawyer completed the cross-examination of Sara’s father and her uncle. Her father Inamur Rahim has ruled out any compromise, which he has also blamed for delays in the case’s conclusion.

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Last month, in Investigation Officer (IO) Habibur Rehman testimony, it was revealed that Shahnawaz had confessed to the crime. Sara Inam had kept her marriage secret from her parents, the police investigation officer told the Islamabad district and sessions court.

Sara Inam was laid to rest in Islamabad’s Shahzad Town as her father demanded that the courts should award strict punishment to suspects.

Prime suspect’s father Ayaz Amir seeks mercy. In his op-ed piece for Dunya newspaper, he confirmed that his son was a drug addict and didn’t work.

An investigation officer told the court that the police were trying to recover Sarah’s passport. But TV anchor Mehar Bokhari, who says she was a friend of Sara, claimed that Shahnawaz tried tampering with evidence by breaking his and the victim’s phone and destroying her Canadian passport by cutting it into pieces with scissors.

Lady Constable Shakila Kausar told the court that Shahnawaz himself led the police to Sara’s body after allegedly killing her by repeated blows to the head.

A police constable told the court that Shahnawaz himself helped recover the victim’s possession and handed them to the police.

The constable also told the court that the yellow bag that the deceased was carrying on the day of her death was recovered from the place of death. The bag carried Rs15,000, AED 2,700 and $100. An airplane ticket, carrying the date September 22, was also found from the bag.

Shahnawaz had denied all allegations against him in his statement under Section 342 of the CrPC.