ISLAMABAD: Shahnawaz Amir, the murderer of Canadian national Sara Inam, challenged his conviction in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.

A sessions court of Islamabad sentenced Shahnawaz to death on Dec 14 in the gruesome murder case of his former wife, besides imposing a fine of Rs1 million on him. The convict is the son of journalist and politician Ayaz Amir, He contended in the appeal that the prosecution could not produce tangible evidence against him and that the case against him was based on hearsay. He requested the IHC to set aside his conviction and suspend his sen-tence until the decision on the appeal.

As per the details of the case, Amir had a quarrel with her ex-wife on Sept 22, 2022, and then killed her with a dumbbell. His mother, Samina Shah, informed the police station in Shehzad Town on Sept 23 about the incident.

The police also nominated Ms Shah as an accused in this case for allegedly abetting the convict in the crime. However, the court acquitted Ms Shah, giving her the benefit of the doubt.

During the course of the investigation, the police recovered the murder weapon from the crime scene and sent it for forensic analysis to the Punjab Forensic Science Academy, Lahore. The alleged motive behind the murder some financial issues. Sara Inam was aworking woman in Abu Dhabi.

Amir was demanding money, had harsh arguments with her on the phone, and then divorced her.Sara came to his farmhouse on Sept 22 from Abu Dhabi and had a brawl with Amir in the bedroom.

He hit her with a showpiece clay pot, and when she was crying, he silenced her by inflicting multiple blows on her head with a dumbbell.

He then hid her dead body in the washroom.

Initially, Amir and his mother were put on trial. They were indicted in the murder case; however, both of them pleaded not guilty.

During the trial proceeding, 19 prosecution witnesses testified before the court.