Parents of Sarah Inam decide to represent themselves in daughter’s murder case

• Sarah’s postmortem report confirmed physical torture, says police.
• Cause of her death will be revealed once forensic report is received, police.
• Sarah was laid to rest in local graveyard in Islamabad. 

Important development emerged in the murder case of Sarah Inam as her parents decided to represent themselves in court during the trial while police have been informed about the latest development in this regard, Geo News reported, citing sources.

Sarah Inam daughter-in-law of well know journalist Ayaz Amir, was allegedly killed by his son, Shahnawaz at home after a row over a "family issue" on September 23.

He was detained by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad's Chak Shahzad area for being a suspect in his wife's murder and later confessed to killing her, saying he "thought" his spouse was having an affair. The couple was married for just three months.

Soon after the murder of her daughter, Sarah’s parents reached Pakistan to perform the final rituals. After her parent’s arrival, she was laid to rest in a local graveyard in Islamabad today.

According to the police, investigation team has found the mobile phone of the victim, while police have also received her postmortem report.

“Sarah’s postmortem report confirmed physical torture, however, cause of her death will be revealed once the forensic report is received,” said police.

Who was Sarah Inam?

Sarah Inam, 37, was a Canadian national and a successful economist who worked with Deloitte and USAID at different points of her career. She was married to Shahnawaz for just three months before being murdered.

She had a masters degree from the University of Waterloo and was currently employed in the government sector in the United Arab Emirates, as per friends and family.

Sarah is survived by her father, mother and two elder brothers.

The case

After the incident on September 23, Shahnawaz was detained by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad's Chak Shahzad area for being a suspect in his wife's murder and later confessed to killing her, saying he "thought" his spouse was having an affair. The couple was married for just three months.

Next day, a trial court approved the arrest warrants of Ayaz Amir and his former wife Sameena Shah, as the two were nominated as suspects by Sarah's family. Amir was arrested while his former wife later acquired pre-arrest bail.

In the police report registered following the murder, an additional clause of Section 109 (punishment for abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code was added at the request of Sarah's uncles — Colonel (retd) Ikram and Zia-ur-Rahim — who have blamed Ayaz Amir and his former wife for their niece's murder.

The petitioners maintained that Sameena was living at the farmhouse where Sarah was murdered.

However, during a hearing on September 27, an Islamabad court discharged Ayaz Amir from the case citing "no evidence" against him in Sarah's murder.