"The sole motive appears to have been his greed for money and wish to remarry."
A husband has received a life sentence for the murder of his British Pakistani wife. He will serve 7 years of hard labour after a judge convicted him in his trial, located in Shahkot, Punjab.
Abdul Sattar was found guilty of drugging, robbing and murdering Mumtaz Sattar. The crime took place in September 2013.
The couple, married for 14 years, travelled to Lahore for their holidays and planned to visit Abdul’s family. However, he and three accomplices fatally attacked her.
The 42-year-old claimed these men attacked him, as well as his wife. He suggested that after flying over to Pakistan, they took an unlicensed taxi with two unknown men. The taxi driver then supposedly gave them tea, laced with drugs.
Abdul, who worked as a newsagent in Port Glasgow, also claimed they both fell unconscious and were thrown out of the taxi. He then added he woke up to find Mumtaz dying from a head wound.
Within 14 hours of his wife’s death, the husband arranged her funeral. However, her family in Scotland were unable to attend.
During investigations, Pakistani police spotted errors in Abdul’s account. In CCTV footage from Lahore airport, they discovered he had hugged the men he supposedly didn’t know.
In addition, an Edinburgh-based pathologist pointed out a fractured bone in Mumtaz’s neck in the post-mortem report, which suggested strangulation. As a result, police arrested Abdul which led to his conviction and sentence.
The three individuals involved also received life sentences and 2 consecutive punishments of 7 years’ hard labour. While the crime took place in 2013, the victim’s family fought a long campaign for justice, supported by Scottish lawyer Aamer Anwar.
In a statement, Aamer said: “This was a coldly calculated and evil murder perpetrated by Abdul Sattar and three other men. The sole motive appears to have been his greed for money and wish to remarry.
“He took her to Pakistan with a plan hatched to murder her within hours of their arrival. He hoped by burying her within 12 hours and a wildly concocted story he would cover his tracks and escape to the UK.”
The lawyer also commented on the long battle for justice: “Mumtaz Sattar’s family have struggled long and hard for justice following her murder in September 2013.
“It has taken over four years and three sets of lawyers to get justice and in that period individuals in the Punjab legal system stood accused of corruption and taking bribes, whilst Mumtaz’s family were subjected to threats of violence if they did not withdraw the case.”
“The family persevered and refused to give in, showing immense courage.”
Mumtaz’s family also claim Abdul would regularly beat her and torment her with emotional abuse prior to the murder. The couple had two children, now aged 14 and 17, who are currently living with their grandmother.
Aamer concluded that the family feel they now begin to grieve the loss of Mumtaz.
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