An Islamabad trial court on Thursday sentenced Shahnawaz Amir to death for the murder of Sarah Inam and imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him, which would be paid to the bereaved family.

The court acquitted Shahnawaz’s mother, Samina Shah, who was co-accused in the case.

The reserved verdict was issued by District and Sessions Judge Nasir Javed Rana, more than a year after the gruesome killing. Sarah’s parents and Shaukhat Mukaddam — father of another victim of gender-based violence Noor Mukadam — were among those who were present in the packed courtroom today.

As the verdict was announced, the victim’s father was visibly emotional. Meanwhile, the police swiftly escorted the convict out of the courtroom.

Sarah, a Canadian national, was murdered by Shahnawaz, her husband, the son of journalist Ayaz Amir, in Islamabad last year in September. She was reportedly killed just a day after she arrived in the country from Dubai where she had been working.

Shahnawaz was arrested on Sept 23 last year at a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Shahzad Town. 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 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 Sarah’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 Sarah’s father and her uncle. In October, Investigation Officer (IO) Habibur Rehman testified that Shahnawaz had confessed to the crime. Subsequently, the judge had concluded recording statements of the IO and the prosecution witnesses in the murder case.

The written order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said that the prosecution had successfully proven its case “beyond shadow of any doubt up to the hilt of the guilt of the accused Shahnawaz, who is held guilty of the commission of intentional murder of Sarah Inam deceased, therefore, he is hereby convicted”.

The order said Shahnawaz had committed the “brutal and gruesome” murder of Sarah and was not entitled to any leniency.

“He shall be hanged by his neck till his death and death sentence shall be subject to confirmation by the honourable Islamabad High Court,” the order said.

Sarah’s father seeks punishment for convict’s mother

Speaking to media persons after the verdict was announced, Sarah’s father Inamur Rahim, flanked by Shaukat Mukadam, said he was satisfied with the sentence awarded to Shahnawaz but demanded that Samina also be punished.

“At least the convict will go to jail and will be hanged,” he said. “But we suspect Samina also played a part in the murder and she should be punished.”

Rahim asserted that Shahnawaz’s mother would also be punished, adding that he hadn’t withdrawn the challan against her under Section 109 (punishment for abatement) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“There were three people at the farmhouse on the night of the murder: Sarah, Shahnawaz and his mother. How can we believe what they are saying? We have no idea what happened that day,” he said.

Rahim noted that the Noor Mukadam case was still pending in the Supreme Court and urged the chief justice to take notice of it.

Talking about the case proceedings, Rahim lamented the many delays in the case. “But overall, it is not bad. At least, Shahnawaz has been punished,” he added.

Case history

In September, 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 the 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 Sarah’s uncle filed an application with the police, alleging that Shahnawaz had murdered Sarah in connivance with his parents.

According to the FIR, the SHO 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.