A municipal court in Islamabad granted the police’s request for authorization to issue arrest warrants for senior journalist Ayaz Amir and his wife in relation to the slaying of their Canadian-born daughter-in-law.
Senior writer Ayaz Amir’s son Shahnawaz is charged with killing his wife Sara at their house after a Friday quarrel over a “family matter.”When the police arrested Shahnawaz from the farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad neighbourhood, he confessed to the crime and said he “thought” his wife was having an affair with someone else.
The investigating officer informed Mubashir Hassan Chishti, a civil judge, that Shahnawaz had “killed his wife in cold blood” when he first appeared in court. The suspect appeared before the judge today.
The police requested that Shahnawaz be physically detained for questioning for ten days throughout the hearing. In response, Shahnawaz’s lawyer said they agreed with the police’s request for remand because the crime was a “blind murder.”Nevertheless, he asserted that the case was now only backed by “claims.”
The police also requested Shahnawaz’s fingerprints and asked that warrants for his parents’ arrest be approved in a plea that was also presented. However, the request to get the suspect’s fingerprints were turned down. The National Database and Registration Authority can get the fingerprints, the judge said.
The situation:
In response to Station House Officer (SHO) Nawazish Ali Khan’s complaint under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (which addresses the punishment for murder), police filed a first information report (FIR) on Friday (PPC).
On Friday, September 23, the mother of the suspect, Samina Shah, reportedly called the police to tell them that her son, Shahnawaz, had killed his wife with a dumbbell. The FIR contained this information.
