Sara murder case: Ayaz Amir's physical remand extended for one day, Shahnawaz's for 3 days

Islamabad: A local court in the federal capital on Monday extended the physical remand of senior journalist Ayaz Amir and his son Shahnawaz Amir -- who is prime suspect in the murder case of Canadian national Sara Inam -- for one and three days, respectively.

Shahnawaz allegedly killed his wife Sara at home after a row over a "family issue" on September 23.

The suspect, who was detained by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad's Chak Shahzad area for being a suspect in his wife's murder, confessed to committing the crime, saying he "thought" his spouse was having an affair with someone else.

The couple was married for just three months.

On Saturday, the trial court approved the arrest warrants of Amir and his former wife Sameena Shah, as the two were nominated as suspects by Sara's family.

Amir has been arrested while his former wife has sought pre-arrest bail. Later on Sunday, a district and sessions court in Islamabad granted police one-day physical remand of Ayaz Amir.

The petitioners maintained that Sameena has been living at the farmhouse where Sara was murdered.

The police presented Ayaz Amir, and Shahnawaz before senior civil judge Muhammad Aamir Aziz's court after completion of their physical remand. 

At the outset of the hearing, Ayaz maintained that he will fight his case himself. 

He said that he joined the investigation from the moment the police registered the case. The petitioners should show some evidence for the allegations levelled against him, Ayaz argued.

During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that police have to recover the passport and the amount that the prime suspect had been taking from the victim. They requested the court for a seven-day extension in both suspects' physical remand.

However, the court remanded Ayaz and Shahnawaz into police custody for one and three days, respectively.

Meanwhile, an additional sessions court judge accepted the pre-arrest bail plea of Shahnawaz's mother Sameena Shah against a surety of Rs50,000 and directed her to join the probe within three days.

The court remarked that there is no allegation against Sameena as per the FIR. Ayaz Amir's ex-wife Sameena Shah approached the court for bail to avoid arrest in the murder case earlier in the day.