Senior journalist Ayaz Amir was released from the murder case involving his daughter-in-law Sarah Inam on Tuesday by a municipal court in Islamabad.
Ayaz Amir’s son Shahnawaz 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.
A trial judge authorised the arrest warrants for Ayaz Amir and his ex-wife Sameena Shah on Saturday since Sarah’s family had named the two as suspects. While his ex-wife later received pre-arrest bail, Amir was taken into custody.
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.