Body of kidnapped Pakistani-American woman found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ex-husband confesses killing

Wajiha Swati came to Pakistan from England on October 16 to resolve property issues with her ex-husband Rizwan Habib and was murdered the same day she arrived in Rawalpindi.
Image used for representation
Image used for representation

ISLAMABAD: In yet another ghastly incident of oppression on women in Pakistan, a kidnapped Pakistani-American woman's body was found from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.

Wajiha Swati came to Pakistan from England on October 16 to resolve property issues with her ex-husband, Rizwan Habib. Geo News reported that he "confessed to killing" Swati during police interrogation.

The sources said that Swati came to Pakistan from England on October 16 to resolve property issues with her ex-husband. They added that the US woman was murdered the same day she arrived in Rawalpindi. A case relating to her abduction was registered at Morgah Police Station in Rawalpindi on the complaint of her son.

According to the sources, Habib said that he had killed Swati on October 16 and buried her body in Hangu.

On December 23, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench's Justice Raja Shahid Mehmood Abbasi ordered the city police officer (CPO) to recover Swati soon otherwise the court will summon the Inspector General of Police. The court had ordered the police to present her in court after recovering her, reported Geo News.

City Police Officer Rawalpindi Sajid Kiani, addressing a press conference, said that the case is under investigation and the police will not divulge too many details at this point, reported Geo News. Kiyani did reveal some aspects that came to light during investigations, such as Swati arriving in Pakistan on October 16 and being received by her former husband, Rizwan Habib.

He went on to say that three people -- Habib, his father and one other suspect -- have been arrested in connection with the case, reported Geo News. The CPO said that Wajiha's body was found from Lakki Marwat's Pizu area and that it is being brought to Islamabad.

He said that further investigations are underway and further arrests are expected. The case bear's eerie resemblance with the Noor Mukadam murder case, the daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, who was found murdered at a residence in Islamabad on July 20.

A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was arrested from the site of the murder, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's father.

The murder and its gruesome nature sparked strong condemnation and public outrage in Pakistan, and numerous calls to bring the perpetrator to justice.

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