Hafizabad District Police Officer (DPO) Sajid Kiani on Sunday announced the arrest of five suspects including the husband of public prosecutor Naila Amjad, who was shot dead on January 11 in front of her house.

DPO Kiani said a special investigative team comprising sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Saddar Circle Mohammad Khalid, Station House Officer (SHO) City Ijaz Ahmed Butt, in charge Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Ahad Hassan Tarar, Sub-Inspector Hafiz Ahmed Jamal and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Badar Munir, had been formed to investigate the murder of Naila Amjad.

Assistant District Public Prosecutor Naila Amjad was shot dead in front of her house on January 11 in Hafizabad, said Kiani.

Earlier, police said Amjad would routinely visit a gym along with her husband Muhammad Zaman, a teacher at a private school. On the day of the incident, as the couple left the house, Zaman went to an adjacent street to bring his car when two motorcyclists shot at her and escaped.

Critically injured Amjad breathed her last while being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Hafizabad where doctors later conducted an autopsy of the body.

Police registered a case against two unidentified suspects under Sections 302 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of Sajid Ali Awan, the brother of the deceased.

DPO Kiani today said evidence was collected from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency's (PFSA) crime scene unit and through the use of modern technology the crime was investigated. Kiani added that he would supervise developments in the case on a daily basis.

As per the DPO, Amjad's husband was taken into custody on the basis of substantial evidence. During the initial investigation, Zaman confessed to the murder and added that he had hired professional hitmen named Rizwan and Javed with the help of his brother Ali Raza and a cousin Tahir alias Baga. He added that he had paid the hitmen Rs0.2 million for completing the job.

According to Kiani, the suspects had run away to other provinces where they were traced with the help of advanced technology. He added that Zaman, the main suspect, was an IT expert and had been planning the murder for six months — thinking of a way as to not leave any evidence.

Zaman had revealed that there were domestic issues between the couple for a while, which had escalated to the extent of divorce. Due to the social and family pressures, he had remained in the marriage.

However, six months ago, he decided to leave his wife and started planning her murder.

DPO Kiani on Sunday announced a hefty reward for the special investigative team along with certificates of achievement.