Samina Shah, the mother of the prime suspect in Sarah Inam murder case was granted a pre-arrest bail by the district and sessions court in Islamabad.

Shahnawaz, the son of Saminah Shah and analyst Ayaz Amir, allegedly murdered Sarah Inam at their farmhouse residence in Islamabad on Friday morning when Samina Shah was at the same house.

In a pre-arrest bail petition, she filed through barrister Hasanat Gul, Saminah Shah said that her name was put on the case on the demand of Sarah Inam’s uncle and aunt.

She appeared before the sessions court and the judge granted her bail for three days on surety bonds of Rs50,000.

The judge said that police case suggests that it was Samina Shah who had informed the police about the murder. Then why the police wants to arrest her, he said.

In the petition, Samina Shah has narrated the events in the run up to the alleged murder and provided her WhatsApp message record to substantiate them.

She said hours before ‘the heinous crime’ of Sarah Inam’s killing took place, Shahnawaz texted her at 12:37 midnight “to arrange ruksati (departure) of the deceased by speaking to the deceased’s father.”

“Everything was normal a night before the crime took place,” said Shah in the petition adding that she went to bed after receiving the text message from Shahnawaz.

“The petitioner was present within the premises of the Farmhouse when the incident took place, but was in the kitchen of the house which is away from the room where the crime was committed,” read the petition.

“The petitioner was informed about the incident through Shahnawaz Amir on her cell phone at 9:12am upon which she rushed to the room of Shahnawaz Amir,” it added.

Samina Shah said that when she entered the room Sara Inam had already died and she asked Shahnawaz to sit in her room. Meanwhile, Ayaz Amir had called the police and within minutes, the police arrived and arrested Shahnawaz, she said.

Samina Shah requested pre-arrest bail on the account of her old age and health issues.

She was “not even an eyewitness” to the incident, said the petition.

The prime suspect’s mother promised to cooperate with police investigators.