Ex-husband gets death penalty in US national Wajiha Swati's murder case

• Islamabad district and sessions court announces verdict.
• Prime accused sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment as additional punishment.
• Co-accused sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.

A local court in Islamabad on Saturday awarded capital punishment and 10 years of imprisonment to the prime accused, Rizwan Habib, in the Wajiha Swati murder case. Habib was the ex-husband of Swati.

Meanwhile, co-accused Hurriyatullah and Sultan were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.

During today's hearing, all the convicts, and US agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials were present in court while the additional district and sessions judge announced the verdict.

The case 

US citizen of Pakistani origin Wajiha Swati was found dead in December, two months after she went missing from Rawalpindi in October. Her ex-husband Habib reportedly confessed to killing Swati during police interrogation. He also told the police that he had planned to seek asylum and citizenship in Poland after the murder, for which he had obtained a passport.

According to the police, Habib revealed that his father — who was also arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the murder — had said that "it would cost only Rs50,000 to kill Wajiha".

As per details, Swati came to Pakistan from England on October 16 to resolve property issues with her ex-husband. The US woman was murdered the same day she arrived in Rawalpindi, while a case for her abduction was registered at Morgah Police Station in Rawalpindi on her son's complaint.

The culprit buried Swati's body in Hangu, from where a police team exhumed her body on the directions of RPO Rawalpindi.