Shahnawaz Amir, the prime suspect in the murder of Sarah Inam, was remanded into custody by an Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday for a period of 14 days.
Following a disagreement over a family matter on September 23, senior journalist Ayaz Amir’s son Shahnawaz is accused of killing his wife Sarah at home.
Shahnawaz confessed to the killing and claimed that he “thought” his wife was having an affair with another person. He was arrested by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad district after being identified as a suspect in his wife’s death. Only three months were spent as a married pair.
Ayaz Amir and his ex-wife Sameena Shah were named as suspects by Sarah’s family, and the next day a trial judge granted the arrest warrants for the two. However, the court gave Sameena a temporary pre-arrest and ordered her to cooperate with the investigation, while Ayaz Amir was dismissed from the case due to the lack of “proof” against him in the murder.
Sarah’s uncles, Colonel (retd) Ikram and Zia-ur-Rahim, who have accused Ayaz Amir and his ex-wife of being responsible for their niece’s murder, requested the addition of a new clause of Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (punishment for abetment) to the police report that was filed after the murder.
Shahnawaz was placed in judicial custody for 14 days after the court granted the police’s request.
Shahnawaz’s physical detention had been prolonged by the court for three days during the most recent hearing on Monday in response to a police request to locate Sarah Inam’s passport.
According to the investigative officer, the passport is “important evidence” because it will reveal Sarah’s travel history.
The court prolonged the suspect’s physical remand following the hearing of both sides’ arguments.
