Friends of University of Waterloo alumnus mourn after husband’s arrest in Pakistan murder case

Sarah Inam’s friends are in mourning after the former University of Waterloo student in Ontario was killed in Pakistan and her husband was arrested.

Inam, 37, had been married for four months to Shahnawaz Amir, the son of Ayaz Amir, a Pakistani television columnist and political analyst, reports the Associated Press.

Pakistani police said Shahnawaz was arrested after Inam was allegedly killed at the couple’s home on Friday following an argument over a family issue. Her father was also arrested after being beaten to death.

Sara Syeda attended the University of Waterloo with Inam in 2002. They were classmates and close friends.

« To have her brutally killed like this is unbelievable, » Syeda told CBC News. « She wasn’t the kind of person to fight or anything. She really wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hear that she was beaten to death is painful and unbelievable. »

Police officer Mohammad Faizan said Ayaz appeared in court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Sunday accused of helping his son, according to the AP.

According to police, Shahnawaz confessed to repeatedly hitting his wife with a barbell and then later trying to hide her body in a bathtub.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. It is not immediately known whether any charges have been laid.

The chancellor of the university « deeply saddened »

Inam’s death sparked a flood of reactions online from social media users around the world, speaking out against gender-based violence.

Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, was among those who shared his thoughts and condolences online.

« I was deeply saddened to wake up to the news of the death in Pakistan of a former #UWaterloo student, Sara Inam,” he said in a tweet. “Sara was killed following intimate partner violence. The continued prevalence of gender-based violence here in Canada and around the world weighs heavily on us all. »

Inam’s first name is spelled in different ways in various online sources. The Associated Press spells her first name as Sarah.

Syeda said she first met Inam through the University of Waterloo Pakistani Student Association, where they would bond while planning fundraisers on campus.

« My memories of her are pleasant and beautiful. She was one of the nicest girls I have known on campus, » Syeda said, adding that the news of Inam’s death hurt many. members of the community of elders.

« We are all traumatized and in pain. They are just as shocked as I am. Some of them met her just a few months ago when she was working in Dubai. She had gone to Pakistan, to Islamabad, to meet her husband – and then it happened. It’s so hard to believe.

Syeda said she was working with friends and former classmates to organize a virtual vigil for Inam.