A Karachi court sentenced Asma to life imprisonment for the 2019 murder of her husband, Shah Zaman, carried out with her accomplice and paramour, Ghulam Nabi, also known as Deedar. Deedar received the death penalty for his role in the crime.
The additional district and sessions judge (West) announced the verdict while the convicts attended the hearing via video link from their respective jails. Both were also ordered to pay Rs500,000 each as compensation to Shah Zaman’s legal heirs.
The prosecution revealed that the convicts had tried to make the murder appear as a suicide. However, Zaman’s relatives, suspecting foul play, took his body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where a post-mortem examination revealed marks on his wrists, chest, feet, ankles, and neck. The medical report confirmed that Zaman had been strangled and electrocuted, prompting the complainant, Irfan Ahmed, to file an FIR.
Deedar’s lawyer argued that his client was not initially named in the case and highlighted delays in registering the FIR at the Pirabad police station. However, the court found that Asma had confessed to her crime before a judicial magistrate and planned the murder with Deedar.
Eyewitness testimony from Zaman’s two sons corroborated the relationship between Asma and Deedar. The court noted that Asma had drugged her husband by mixing sedatives into his milk before he went to sleep.
The court directed prison authorities to implement the sentences and issue conviction slips for both convicts.
