Life for killer who strangled wife in front of their children

A killer who strangled his partner to death with a headscarf in front of her children when she asked for a divorce was jailed for at least 19 years.

Zafar Iqbal, 61, was a fugitive in Pakistan for 20 years after he killed Naziat Khan, 38, at their home in Norbury, southwest London, in August 2001.

After the murder Iqbal flew to Pakistan where he would remain for 20 years before he was extradited to the UK in September last year.

He killed her in front of their three young daughters, two aged 10 and one aged 3.

Iqbal is one of the first defendants to be extradited from Pakistan to the UK in the wake of improved relations between the two countries.

He had been abusing and beating his wife for years before he killed her.

Iqbal appeared at the Old Bailey today (mon) wearing a purple jumper and white shirt.

Judge Sarah Munro, KC, said: ‘On Monday 20 August 2001 shortly after 1pm you strangled your defenceless wife to death with her own scarf in front of your young children.

‘You did so for no better reason than that you could not face the cultural ignominy that would follow if the divorce proceedings had reached their conclusion.

‘You took away their mother before their very eyes and having abandoned them you cowardly fled to Pakistan where you remined until your arrest.’

Naziat had grown up in the UK and had an arranged marriage in Pakistan in 1985, where the couple lived for six years until 1991.

By 2001 they had separated and he had moved out from the home in Windermere Road, Norbury.

Ms Khan had applied for a divorce from the Islamic Sharia Council on 7 June 2020.

Her husband did not wish to be divorced, and they agreed to complete a four month reconciliation period.

On 22 June she wrote again saying the marriage had broken down completely. On 30 July the defendant was chased for a response.

Prosecutor Anthony Orchard said: ‘On 20 August 2001 shortly before noon Nazit took her two elder daughters to the Mosque.

‘Just before they left home their mother gave them a key to the house saying she was going to go to Tooting to do some shopping.

‘As they left with their mother they saw their father standing on the pavement opposite the house. He waved at them and joined them for the short walk.

‘After attending the mosque for an hour they got home for the door to be answered by their father.

‘He told them their mother had just left to go collect them.

‘They didn’t believe him and remained on the door step.

‘He came to the door again and blood could be seen on one of his hands and they heard their sister inside crying.

‘They asked him who was inside and he replied no one.

‘He let them in. He held them both by the mouths so they couldn’t talk or scream.

‘They went into the sitting room and saw their mother lying on the floor, a knot tied around her neck.

‘Blood was coming out of her nose all over her face, her eyes were swollen and her face was black and purple.

‘She was making noises trying to breathe. The girls pleaded with their father and cried.

‘He went back to their mother, knelt beside her and tightened the scarf around her neck.

‘He told the girls “it’s nothing, she’s alright, just sit there otherwise I’ll do that to you”.

‘He told them not to cry otherwise your Mum’s going to die.’

He then put a scarf around one of the 10-year-old’ necks and said ‘look what I’m going to do if you don’t shut up’.

Mr Orchard said: ‘He went back to their mother and continued pulling. He undid the knot to make it even tighter.

‘He was saying to his daughter’s “if you talk or do anything I’ll do it tighter.”

‘As the scarf tightened their mother’s hand moved. The defendant continued to tighten the scarf and their mother stopped moving.

They asked why he was doing this and he said “because she is having a divorce”.

He threatened his daughters saying he would do to them what he’d done to their mother if they told anybody.

He made one of his daughters write a note to leave on the doorstep in their mother’s handwriting saying she had gone to Manchester.

They then went to stay the night at the home of a family acquittance. Iqbal left at 4am.

The girl’s 15-year-old brother who had been in Bradford found them the next day and they told him what had happened.

In a joint victim impact statement read to court, the elder 10-year-old and 15-year-old, now 31 and 36, said: ‘We’ve waited 21 years for this day.

‘At times it seemed impossible but our Mum was our strength and through her we continued, prayed to Allah and he guided us.

‘You took so much from us, we were only kids and you stole and broke apart our home, our childhood, you took our friend, our teacher, our father, our mother.

‘You left us, without a thought, what you did is truly unforgivable.

‘Why you chose to do this we will never understand. You brought so much pain to her life, she was young with her whole life ahead of her, she had so much to give this world and to us, her children.

‘You stole it all from her without a thought.

‘We want you to know that you are going to spend the rest of your life alone, paying for this every single day with no freedom.’

The younger 10-year-old, now 31, said: ‘I could sit and write about how much distress and trauma has been inflicted upon us.

‘I could talk about my anger and rage but this man is not worthy of or deserving of that.

‘A mother is irreplaceable for a child. I was your baby.

‘We were inseparable. I would follow you around the house, or everywhere we went.

‘I learned how to be a mother because of you. You were everything a mother is. You were loving, giving, kind, you consumed us with your love.

‘I hope your death wasn’t in vain.

‘The sentencing today will hopefully help other families like ours, who have been waiting for the British government and other countries to strengthen each country’s ability to extradite criminals.

‘For us, for many years, justice delayed was justice denied.

The three-year-old, now 24, said: ‘I grew up not being able to write a Mother’s Day card, a Father’s Day card.

‘Why did other children get to have a happy family and I didn’t.?

‘My only memory I have of my mum is of her being murdered, and the only memory I have of a dad is him murdering her.

‘People assume that because I was so young I won’t remember what happened but unfortunately its ingrained in my memory.

‘But part of me never wants to forget as at such a young age we were taught of the evil that exists in the world and it made us wiser, it was a life lesson learnt that should never have happened.

‘Our Mum will not become just a statistic in honour killings. Her story lives on through us and we will always campaign to make sure woman’s voice are not silenced. She will never be forgotten and will remain in our hearts.

‘We are our mother’s children.’

The children watched from the well of court as their statements were read out.

Iqbal had contacted the Islamic Council about the divorce on the day he killed his wife and told an official it was ’embarrassing.’

An arrest warrant was issued in 2005 but no formal extradition proceedings could take place. On 11 August 2106 a warrant for his arrest was issued by a judge in Pakistan.

He was arrested on 4 December 2017 and brought to the UK on 14 September 2021

Mr Orchard said: ‘During the previous two years there had been a number of incidents of domestic violence.

‘On 12 March 1999 one of the daughters recalls their mother screaming as she was repeatedly slapped in the cheeks.

‘The following day Nazit had two black eyes. The following day she screamed in the kitchen. The defendant had a scarf wrapped around her head and mouth so she couldn’t talk.

‘The defendant had a knife and kicked and slapped her saying “I’m going to kill you”.

‘On 3 January 2001 the defendant had learned of a possible relationship Nazit was having with another man.

‘He tried to prevent her visiting him, approaching her car and trying to prevent he from getting out. He said ‘you won’t go and see him, you’re still my wife. If I can’t have you nobody else can.”

‘He attacked the deceased and had to be physically pulled away.

‘On 8 July 2001 he kicked at the front door of Windemere Road causing it to smash, then failed to attend court proceedings.’

Judge Munro said: ‘You took your separation from your wife very badly. In 2000 you began to drink heavily and by August 2001 you were alcohol dependant and suffering from depression.

‘I accept that in your culture the fact of a wife’s infidelity and proposal of divorce is now and was even moreso in 2001 something which caused acute embarrassment and shame upon a husband.

‘That may provide some explanation for your actions but it in no way excuses them.’

Iqbal admitted murder.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years.

ends