An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday recorded the statement of Shahnawaz Amir, the prime accused in the Sarah Inam murder case, and granted him a week to present further evidence in his defence.

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

Shahnawaz was arrested on Sept 23 last year over the alleged murder at a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Shahzad Town, only a day after her arrival in the country from Dubai where she had been working.

He 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, 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, Inamur Rahim, and her uncle Ikramur Rahim.

Sara’s father, Inamur Rahim has ruled out compromise with the defence, which he has also blamed for delays in the case’s conclusion.

Last month, Investigation Officer (IO) Habibur Rehman testified before a trial court, informing the judge that Shahnawaz had confessed his crime.

Earlier this month, Sessions Judge Azam Khan had concluded recording statements of the IO and the prosecution witnesses in the murder case.

During the previous hearing on Oct 18, the court had begun recording Shahnawaz’s statement under Section 324 of the Criminal Procedure Code (power to examine the accused), which was completed today.

In that hearing, Shahnawaz disputed the evidence submitted by the prosecution and claimed that he was unaware of Sara’s bloodstained clothes. He had further said that there was “no conflict” between him and Sara and that they were living happily together.

Today’s hearing

The proceedings today were attended by Investigating Officer Nawazish Ali, who appeared in court with the case record. Prosecutor Hassan Abbas, Shahnawaz’s mother Sameena and Sara’s father were in attendance too.

The police also presented Shahnawaz before the Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasir Javed Rana amid tight security.

At the outset of the hearing, the prime accused resumed recording his statement, in which he rejected all evidence submitted by the prosecution and called them “baseless”.

After Shahnawaz completed his statement, the judge asked him if he wanted to present any other evidence in his defence. To this, the prime accused requested the court for time until the next hearing.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing till Nov 1.

The case

In September last year, the police became a complainant in the case, with a first information report (FIR) registered for the murder on the complaint of Shahzad Town Station House Officer (SHO) Nawazish Ali Khan at the Chak Shahzad police station, initially under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Later, police added Section 109 (punishment for abetment if act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the PPC to the FIR and initiated proceedings against Shahnawaz’s parents, Sameena and senior journalist Ayaz Amir.

The development came after Sara’s uncle filed an application with the police, alleging that Shahnawaz had murdered Sara in connivance with his parents.

According to the FIR, SHO Khan was present on Park Road near Chatha Bakhtawar when he got the information about the murder.

The FIR stated that when the police team reached the farmhouse where the murder had taken place, they were received by the mother of the main suspect who told them that her son had “murdered his wife during a scuffle”.

As per the FIR, she informed the police that her son was still present in the house. The police managed to enter the house and detained the suspect, it claimed, adding that the suspect’s hands were “soaked in blood” at the time of the arrest.

During the inquiry, the man identified himself as Shahnawaz Amir and told the police that he had murdered his wife with a dumbbell and hid her body in a bathtub in the bathroom, it claimed.

Police recovered the dead body on his information, the FIR said, adding that a wound was found on the head of the deceased. The police team also recovered the murder weapon from the house which was “hidden under a bed”, it added.

Subsequently, the body was moved to the Poly Clinic for autopsy and the murder weapon and Shahnawaz’s shirt were sent for a forensic audit.

As per the police challan, Shahnawaz had told the police that Sara had refused to send him money after which he had a heated telephonic conversation with his wife and divorced her on the phone.

After the divorce, Sara reached Islamabad from Abu Dhabi on September 22. He further stated that she argued with Shahnawaz in the bedroom and asked him to return the money that she had sent to him.

Upon this, the suspect first hit Sara with a showpiece and injured her. When the victim made a noise, the accused picked up a dumbbell and hit her several times on the head.

The challan also stated that Samina Shah, the mother of Shahnawaz Amir, verified to the police that her son fought with his wife Sara and killed her.

Shahnawaz had also reportedly confessed to killing Sara and hiding her body in a bathroom tub before it was recovered by the police on his identification.