Pakistan High Court Upholds Death Sentence in Murder of American Ex-Wife

A division bench of the Lahore High Court at Rawalpindi dismissed the appeal and upheld the death sentence of Rizwan Habib, who was convicted of the brutal murder of his former wife, US citizen Wajiha Swati, in a case involving a property dispute over assets worth around Rs1 billion that took place in Rawalpindi.

The High Court remarked that the convict perpetrated a vile crime, thus justifying the death sentence.

The division bench of the Lahore High Court included Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Tanveer Sheikh.

In April 2025, Rawalpindi District and Sessions Judge Majid Hussain Gadi sentenced Rizwan Habib to death for the brutal murder of his American ex-wife. The accused subsequently challenged the verdict before the High Court, which ordered a retrial on merits.

Following reconsideration, Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka again gave the death sentence. The decision was once more challenged in the High Court, where the Rawalpindi Bench ultimately dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction.

According to the case details, Rizwan Habib contracted a second marriage with 47-year-old US citizen Wajiha Swati after persuading her with assurances of a lucrative business venture. The relationship deteriorated within months, leading to a divorce.

During her stay in the United States, the accused took control of her luxury cottage in Rawalpindi and initiated the transfer of other properties into his own name. Police investigations further revealed that Swati had been seeking the recovery of property worth millions of rupees that she had previously transferred to him prior to the divorce.

When she initiated legal proceedings, Habib persuaded her to return to Pakistan under the pretext of a reconciliation agreement and the return of her assets.

Swati arrived from the United States via the United Kingdom on October 16, 2021. Just a day later, she was murdered by her ex-husband.

Her prolonged disappearance prompted her son, Abdullah, based in the United States, to involve the FBI and the US Embassy in Islamabad, while also filing an online complaint with Rawalpindi Police.

Given the sensitivity of the matter and diplomatic involvement, police launched a priority investigation and arrested the victim’s ex-husband, who confessed to the brutal murder of Swati.

During interrogation, he stated that Swati’s body was wrapped in a carpet, transported from Rawalpindi to a remote village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and buried in a pit within the courtyard of a house.

Sixty-three days after the murder, Rawalpindi Police recovered the remains and transported them to the city for legal formalities.

A forensic report from a US laboratory confirmed that Swati had died as a result of torture, corroborating the prosecution’s case.

The case remained under close observation by US authorities, with three American diplomats and an FBI officer present in court when the verdict was announced.

Source: themedialine.org, Arshad Mehmood, May 17, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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