Important Revelations in the Murder Case of Sidra in Rawalpindi’s Pirwadhai Area

Rawalpindi:The tragic case of Sidra’s alleged murder under the guise of honor killings in Rawalpindi’s Pirwadhai area has taken a significant turn with important new revelations emerging.

According to private TV channel *Express News*, sources within the police investigation have shared shocking details about the case. Sidra, wife of Zia-ur-Rehman, went missing from her home on July 11 due to marital discord. It was later revealed that she had allegedly been involved with a young man named Usman, which led to suspicion among her husband, father, and other family members.

On July 16, a jirga (tribal council) was convened in Muzaffarabad, where Sidra’s father, brother, and family members, along with business leader Ismatullah, intervened and managed to bring Sidra back to Rawalpindi. On July 17, a second jirga was held at Sidra’s husband’s house with Ismatullah, Sidra’s father Arab Gul, her husband Zia-ur-Rehman, and other close relatives present. During the jirga, at around 4 AM, a decision was made that Sidra no longer deserved to live due to her actions after leaving the house.

Sidra was then taken to a room, where she was allegedly strangled to death by her father, brother, and uncle. After her murder, female family members reportedly washed her body and performed the funeral prayers. The body was then taken to Pirwadhai Cemetery, also known as the *Chhatti Qabristan*, where they contacted a committee member and a grave-digger for quick burial. The cemetery workers stated that it would take at least three hours to prepare a grave, but the family insisted on preparing it themselves, and the body was buried within the hour.

As the police received a tip about suspicious activity, they began investigating. In an attempt to mislead authorities, on July 20, Ismatullah, along with Sidra’s husband, Zia-ur-Rehman, filed a complaint with the police and the court, claiming Sidra had been abducted and had married Usman. They even went to court seeking action under Section 22-A for the non-registration of an abduction case.

However, the police, already investigating the case, increased their alertness. They began checking records at various cemeteries, including Pirwadhai, Dhok Hameedan, and others. Through human intelligence, the police identified a rickshaw driver who admitted to transporting Sidra’s body to the cemetery.

Upon further investigation, the police discovered discrepancies in the cemetery’s records. The receipt for the burial was missing a serial number, and there were signs that the name and details of Sidra had been tampered with. The breakthrough came when the police accessed CCTV footage from the cemetery, which clearly showed Sidra’s body being wrapped in polyethylene and being carried by the suspects.

The police arrested the grave-digger and a cemetery committee member on the spot, leading to further developments in the case. Sidra’s family members, both from her in-laws’ side and her parental side, were taken into custody for questioning. A petition for the exhumation of Sidra’s body and a post-mortem was filed in court, and the court issued a notice for July 26, summoning the deceased’s relatives.

A senior police officer confirmed that once the court granted permission for exhumation, the body would be exhumed, and a post-mortem would be conducted. The Regional Police Officer (RPO) Rawalpindi, Babar Sarfraz Alpa, also visited the scene and was briefed on the details of the case.

Sources further revealed that the cemetery committee member and grave-digger have been formally arrested, while ten other individuals, including women, remain under investigation. Ismatullah, the businessman from Bara Market, has been linked to political figures in Rawalpindi and has a history of obstructing government operations during anti-encroachment drives, with several cases of resistance and interference filed against him in the past.