After a district and sessions court in Islamabad indicted the main suspect Shahnawaz Amir and his mother Sameena Shah, the trial in the death of Sarah Inam began on Monday.
Shahnawaz Amir, Sameena’s son, is accused of killing his wife Sarah at home on September 23 following an argument over a “family matter.” He was arrested by police from a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad neighbourhood after they identified him as a suspect in his wife’s slaying. He eventually admitted to killing his wife and claimed he did it because he “thought” his spouse was having an affair. Only three months of their marriage were spent together.
At the request of 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, a new clause of Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code—which deals with punishment for abetment—was added to the police report that was filed after the murder. According to the petitioners, Sameena was residing at the farmhouse where Sarah was killed.
The hearing
Judge Atta Rabbani of the Sessions Court announced the indictment after rejecting Sameena’s petition for the court to throw the case out of her hands. Earlier in the day, following arguments, the plea verdict was reserved.
Before she was charged, Sameena requested that the charges in the case be dropped.
Sameena and her attorney first came before the court for the purpose of hearing her plea.
Nasir Asghar, the defendant’s attorney, informed the court that although his client was located at the crime scene, “When the prosecution’s case is not against her than she should be discharged from the case,” Asghar told the court. He added that the court will have to give its final opinion after looking at the challan report.
Read More: Sarah Inam murder: Shahnawaz Amir’s mother arrested
Additionally, Sameena’s attorney said in court that she gave her son to the police when they arrived at the crime site.
The plaintiff’s insistence [on adding her name] is the sole explanation provided, according to the attorney. In addition, he said that there was nothing else against his client.
After the plaintiff’s attorney was unable to arrive, the court decided to adjourn the session for a short break.
When the attorney arrived at court, the hearing was resumed. He testified to the court that they all concurred that the three of them—the accused and the victim—had dinner together when Sarah arrived at the farmhouse in the evening.
He added that it was also mentioned in the police record that Sarah came there after the divorce.
The lawyer inquired, “What transpired when these three individuals sat together that evening?” He continued by saying that the couple’s divorce took place two days before the murder and that the CCTV cameras also ceased working on that day.
The attorney also revealed to the court that although Sameena’s attorney claimed the murder occurred at 9:00am, the postmortem results suggested otherwise.
The lawyer argued, “According to their information, even if the incident occurred at 9:00am, the post-mortem is stating something else.”
According to the attorney, the police have taken the DVR and sent it for forensic analysis. He continued by saying that it was discovered during the investigation that Ayaz Amir, who had been fired, had reported the crime to the police.
Following the admission of the defendants respective not-guilty pleas, the court ordered the prosecution to call the witnesses on December