A district and sessions court in Islamabad was informed by Shahnawaz Amir – the main suspect in the Sara Inam murder case – that he denied all the allegations of murder levelled against him in a statement given under Section 342 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Sessions Judge Nasir Javed Rana heard the Sara Inam murder case.

The main accused apprised the court that in his absence, an unidentified person killed his wife. “I want to present evidence in my self-defence.”

The court allowed accused Shahnawaz to submit evidence till Nov 1.

During the proceedings, the main accused Shahnawaz gave a statement to present evidence in his defence on the next hearing, saying that he denied the murder charges.

He added that in July 2022, Sara Inam married him without asking her parents. “My wife’s parents and relatives were not happy with our marriage.” Shahnawaz also said that Sara came to his house on the night of the incident. “My mother cooked food for us, all three of us ate together, had a good chat and then went to sleep.”

He said Sara woke up at night and went to the washroom. “I was sleeping then. I woke up at 7am and went to have breakfast. At 8am, I went to the market and when I came back at 9am, Sara was not present in the room.”

On searching, he said, “I found Sara Inam lying in the bathtub”. “When I saw Sara, she was already dead. I was afraid. I told my mother who was in the other room.”

The accused said that his mother, Samina Shah, called his father, Ayaz Amir Chakwal, and told him about the incident.

“When the police arrived, I told them about the whole incident but the case was registered against me.”

He said, “Sara Inam slipped in the bathroom, hit her head on the bathtub and died. In my absence, some unidentified person must have killed my wife.”

The court adjourned the hearing till Nov 1.