Ex-husband gets death sentence over killing Pak-American woman

Khalid Umar Malik
18 Nov 2022, 18:29 GMT+10

Muhammad Afzal, Additional District, and Sessions Judge in Rawalpindi, sentenced Rizwan Habib to death in the murder of his former wife, Pakistani-American Wajiha Swati, on Saturday.
The court sentenced the former husband of US national of Pakistani origin Wajiha Swati to death and ten years in prison, while co-accused Hurriyatullah and Sultan were sentenced to seven years.
According to the verdict, an American woman was summoned to Pakistan and murdered under the guise of settling a property dispute worth billions of rupees.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Muhammad Afzal, Additional District, and Sessions Judge in Rawalpindi, has sentenced Rizwan Habib to death in the murder of his former wife, Pakistani-American Wajiha Swati, on Saturday.

The court sentenced the former husband of U.S. national of Pakistani origin Wajiha Swati to death and ten years in prison, while co-accused Hurriyatullah and Sultan were sentenced to seven years.

According to the verdict, an American woman was summoned to Pakistan and murdered under the guise of settling a property dispute worth billions of rupees. Swati's former husband, Rizwan Habib, was sentenced to ten years on kidnapping charges and fined Rs.100,000. He was also sentenced to death on murder charges, with additional fines of Rs. 500,000.

Wajiha Swati arrived in Pakistan from the United States on October 16, 2021, and was brutally murdered by her former husband, Rizwan Habib, and his accomplices.

The killers transported the body to Khyber Pakhtunkwa, where it was buried in a deep pit for 63 days before the Rawalpindi Police recovered it. Wajiha Swati, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin, was discovered dead in December, two months after she went missing. During a police interrogation, her ex-husband Habib allegedly confessed to killing Swati.

According to the police, Habib revealed that his father, who was also arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the murder, had stated that "killing Wajiha would only cost Rs. 50,000 (230 dollars)." The perpetrator buried Swati's body in Hangu, and a police team exhumed her body.

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