Man found guilty of murdering Scottish wife in Pakistan

A man has been convicted of the 'coldly calculated' murder of his Scottish wife in Pakistan.

Abdul and Mumtaz Sattar on their wedding day. Picture: Garry F McHarg

Abdul Sattar was one of four men found guilty of drugging, robbing and murdering Glasgow-born Mumtaz Sattar in Lahore in 2013.

A lawyer for Mrs Sattar’s family said the sole motive appeared to be money and Sattar’s wish to remarry.

Mrs Sattar, a 38-year-old mother of two, was murdered within hours of arriving in Pakistan with her husband.

She was declared dead on her arrival at hospital in Shakot.

In a statement released on behalf of Mrs Sattar’s family, lawyer Aamer Anwar 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.”

Mr Anwar said Sattar, who ran a newsagents in Port Glasgow, had regularly subjected his wife to beatings and emotional abuse during the course of their relationship.

Sattar had claimed he and his wife had been driven through back roads by a taxi driver and that they had lost consciousness after drinking a cup of tea.

He claimed they had then been thrown from a moving car and that he had managed to get his wife to hospital by flagging down passers-by after regaining consciousness.

Mr Anwar added: “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.”

Sattar, along with his three co-accused, was convicted of doping, robbery and murder, for which he was given a sentence of life imprisonment.

Mr Anwar said he had represented the family on the basis they would not seek the death penalty for Sattar.

He said: “(Mumtaz’s) brother Sarfraz Ali confirmed yesterday that the family would not be seeking to appeal the sentence by asking for the death penalty.

“Mumtaz’s family believe that she will now be in peace and that they can finally grieve for her loss as they have justice.”

Scottish police helped the Pakistani authorities with their investigation into the murder.