Pakistani man sentenced to death for murdering American-origin ex-wife

A court in Pakistan's Rawalpindi has sentenced a man to death for murdering his American-origin ex-wife over a multi-billion-rupee property dispute.

The case revolved around a property dispute between Rizwan Habib and his ex-wife, Wajeeha Swati, in which he forcibly seized control of her assets in Pakistan. After their divorce, Swati had moved abroad. In a calculated move, Rizwan lured her back to Pakistan in 2021, under the pretense of resolving their issues. Once she arrived on October 16 of that year, he murdered her, dismembered her body, and buried the remains in Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The case came to light after Swati’s son, based in the U.S., filed an online First Information Report (FIR), prompting local authorities to launch an investigation.

On November 13, 2022, an Additional District and Sessions Judge sentenced Rizwan to death and imposed a fine of Rs500,000.

However, after the verdict was challenged, a division bench of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench had referred the high-profile murder case of US national Wajiha Swati back to the Rawalpindi district and sessions court for retrial.

After nearly four years of legal proceedings, the court found Rizwan guilty and sentenced him to death.

He was also ordered to pay PKR 500,000 in compensation, along with additional penalties for related offenses. In addition to the death sentence, Rizwan received a 10-year prison term and a PKR 100,000 fine for abduction, and a seven-year sentence with another PKR 100,000 fine for tampering with evidence. His accomplice, Sultan, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined PKR 100,000.

After the crime, Rizwan attempted to cover his tracks by claiming that Swati had gone missing. However, a police investigation soon uncovered the truth. Her body was found, and both Rizwan and his accomplice, Sultan, were arrested as the details of the murder came to light. The trial drew international attention, with three diplomats from the U.S. Embassy and an FBI officer attending the proceedings.

Rizwan Habib has since been transferred to Adiala Jail under tight security.

It’s worth noting that Swati’s remains were sent to the United States for a post-mortem examination, where forensic experts confirmed that she died from blunt force trauma. The American forensic report was later shared with Pakistani authorities, corroborating the findings of the local probe.

The detailed verdict of the case is awaited.