Friends of murdered woman say ‘justice served’ after husband sentenced to death in Pakistan
▶ UAE resident had been married for only three months when she was killed last year
Friends of a UAE resident who was killed by her husband in Pakistan have said “justice has been served” after he was sentenced to death by a court in Islamabad.
Sarah Inam, 38, a Pakistani-Canadian who lived in the Emirates for 14 years, travelled last year to Islamabad to see her husband, who police identified as Shahnawaz Amir.
She was murdered on September 23, with the police’s initial report stating that officers had been met by Amir’s mother at a farmhouse in the capital’s Shahzad Town district.
She said Amir killed Ms Inam “during a scuffle”, while the report also noted that his hands were stained with blood at the time of arrest.
The couple had been married for three months.
A court in Islamabad on Thursday sentenced Amir to death and imposed a penalty of 1 million Pakistani rupees (Dh13,085), which will be paid to the victim’s family.
Ms Inam’s friends welcomed the ruling.
“I’m relieved that, after a drawn-out trial, a guilty verdict has been brought against Shahnawaz and that he has been punished to the full extent of the law in Pakistan,” Steven Nash, who worked with Ms Inam at Deloitte in the UAE between 2011 and 2014, told The National.
“While it will not bring back Sarah, it provides a small comfort to know justice has been served and that Shahnawaz can bring no harm to anyone else.
“More than that, I hope it continues to bring greater awareness to the prevalence of spousal murder, not just in Pakistan but around the world.”
Ms Inam was born in Libya and went to school in Libya, Pakistan, and Canada, before attending the University of Waterloo in Ontario, where she graduated with a master’s degree in economics.
She moved to Abu Dhabi shortly afterwards and worked for Deloitte as a public policy consultant for four years. She spent most of the past decade working for two Abu Dhabi government departments.
Her friend Saima Ismail said she was glad the legal system in Pakistan had served justice.
“Today’s verdict brings a measure of justice for Sarah, whose life was tragically and unjustly taken last year,” said Ms Ismail.
“While no verdict can ever fill the void left by her absence for her family and friends, we are grateful that the legal system has recognised the severity of this crime.
“We continue to remember Sarah for the light she brought into our lives.”
About 28 per cent of Pakistani women aged between 15 and 29 have experienced physical violence, data from the country’s human rights ministry shows.
According to the Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights organisation based in Islamabad, 2,297 cases of violence against women were registered across four provinces in 2021.
These violent incidents included murder, abduction, rape, “honour” killings and domestic abuse.
Ms Inam is survived by her parents and two older brothers.
I hope it continues to bring greater awareness to the prevalence of spousal murder, not just in Pakistan STEVEN NASH Former colleague