ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Rawalpindi handed down a death sentence and ten years of imprisonment on Saturday to the former spouse of a US citizen of Pakistan origin after finding him guilty.
The body of Wajiha Swati, 47, who was killed by Rizwan Habib, her former husband, over a property dispute was found late last year and brought to Rawalpindi for further investigation.
Swati arrived in Pakistan in mid-October to settle issues with Habib and went missing.
Habib, who was arrested on suspicion of murder in December, confessed Saturday to killing Swati the day she arrived in the city.
By January, police had arrested six accused in the murder case, including Hurriat Ullah, Bangash’s father, and Sultan, his servant. The five accused apart from Bangash were charged with aiding and abetting the murder.
At the hearing on Saturday, Muhammad Afzal Majoka, an additional sessions judge, sentenced Hurriat Ullah and Sultan to seven years in prison each. The other three suspects — Yousuf, Zahida, and Rashid — were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
A team of US investigators also attended the proceedings.
According to police, it had emerged during the investigation that Swati was demanding back her property worth millions of rupees, which she had transferred in the name of Habib before their divorce.
