Sarah murder case: Islamabad court grants police four-day extension in Shahnawaz's remand

• Police present prime suspect Shahnawaz Amir in court on expiry of previous remand.
• Shahnawaz is prime suspect in his wife Sarah Inam's murder case.
• Police refuse to return phone of senior journalist Ayaz Amir, father of Shahnawaz.

ISLAMABAD: A local court in the federal capital gave police an extension of four days in the remand of Shahnawaz Amir in the murder case of his wife, Sarah Inam.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Amir Aziz presided over today's hearing and approved extending the remand after police presented him before a court on the expiry of his previous three-day remand.

During the hearing, lawyer of senior journalist Ayaz Amir, Shahnawaz's father, asked the judge to direct the police to return his client's mobile phone.

At this, the investigation officer responded that the prime suspect in the case would often have money transferred to him from his deceased wife, therefore, the phone will be kept for further investigation.

The gruesome murder of Sarah — a Canadian national — occurred earlier this month and her husband is the prime suspect in the case after he confessed to murdering her.

The woman's parents — who returned to Pakistan from Canada — performed her final rituals on Wednesday and laid her to rest at a graveyard in Islamabad.

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.

The next day, a trial court approved the arrest warrants of Ayaz 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 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 from the case citing "no evidence" against him in Sarah's murder.

Sarah Inam — a brief profile

Sarah Inam, 37, was a Canadian national and a successful economist who worked with Deloitte and USAID at different points of her career.

The 37-year-old 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.