Leeds woman in Pakistan prison after allegedly ordering young lover to murder wealthy husband

Yasmeen Kausar, 65, is suspected of having husband Mohammad Farooq, 65, killed by a 30-year-old handyman she had promised to bring back to Britain.

Ms Kausar was arrested by police earlier this month and charged with hiring two men to kill husband of more than 20 years Mr Farooq.

Police believe Mr Farooq, from Headingley, was strangled at the family's Pakistan home in a town near Rawalpindi in the Punjab.

His body was then put in a car and driven to a rubbish dump around 27 miles away where the vehicle was set alight.

HIs charred boy was found at the dump at Morgah, near Islamabad, on April 1.

He is believed to have travelled to Pakistan earlier this year following the death of his younger brother.

His wife, who followed him out to the country, is alleged to have lured him to meet her on March 31 before he was strangled and killed by two men, according to local newspaper reports.

Pakistan-based lawyer Malik Shahnwar-Noon, who is representing Mr Farooq's family, said Mrs Kausar told the handyman her relationship with her husband had deteriorated.

He claims she hatched a plot to kill Mr Farooq to gain access to his finances and property in Pakistan.

He said: "This was a pre-planned, brutal murder. Police have gathered a lot of evidence, CCTV footage and have them remanded in jail.

“Mr Farooq’s wife elicited a relationship with a maintenance worker at their home. They developed a relationship and she planned the murder with him.

“She wanted money and property in Pakistan. They strangled Mr Farooq and they set fire to the dead body, the body was found in the burnt car.

“She called Mr Farooq and asked him to come to her home. He left his home at 5 o’clock and when he was driving he was on the phone to Yasmeen.

“As soon as he entered the home, he was strangled with a bed sheet.

“When he was near to death they put his body in the car and set the fire.”

He said Mr Farooq's three daughters and two sons were left devastated by his death, adding: “Mr Farooq was a very kind person was loved by all his friends and family, it is a very difficult time for everyone.

"The family is very upset, it is obviously a very big incident and has caused a big trauma."

Investigating officer Abdul Wahab confirmed that police suspected Ms Kausar was having an affair with the worker and 'was in constant contact with him' prior to the murder.

Mrs Kausar insists she is innocent and denies plotting her husband's murder. She is currently being held in prison in the country as she awaits trial.

A court hearing is expected to take place on April 30 where it is thought she will enter a plea.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it is in contact with local authorities about the detention of a British woman in the country.

A spokesman said: “We are in contact with the local authorities in Pakistan following the death of a British man and are providing consular support to his family.”

Mr Farooq and Mrs Kausar - his second wife - are believed to hold British and Pakistani passports and have a sprawling £1.5m home in Leeds.

The businessman is the director of a British property firm and has other interests including a hotel in Leeds and one in Rawalpindi in Pakistan which is owned by his family.

A friend of Mr Farooq's family - who did not wish to be named - paid tribute, saying: "He was a very nice, very humble person.

"He was a great guy and a great human being. He did a lot for charity, he was very kind, considerate and humble.

"He was always joking, he was full of life and had a great sense of humour.

"To be murdered in such a brutal was is just terrible.

"It hurts so much that he's been take away in this way.

"She promised him a new life in England and said if you do this for me, I will give you a new life in England."

Ms Kausar's son, Sajid Bashir, has launched a petition pleading his mother's innocence and asking the British government to monitor her welfare in prison.

He wrote: "We are requesting that everybody signs this petition on behalf of my mother Yasmin Kausar.

"My mum is 65 years of age and suffers from Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension.

"She is currently being held in a prison in Pakistan.

"My mother is being falsely accused of the murder of her husband Mohammed Farooq Hussain.

"We are just requesting that the British government contact the relevant authorities in Pakistan and that they just check on her physical and mental health and that she is being afforded her legal and human rights.

"Her legal representative have informed us, the courts and the British embassy in Pakistan of the physical and mental abuse she has had to endure.

"We are obviously very concerned with what we are hearing as to her treatment so far.

"We are not requesting that we should interfere with the legal process in another country, just that the relevant parties in this country can make inquiries to make sure she is being afforded her legal and human rights and is not being mistreated in anyway.

"She is clearly a vulnerable person and who is isolated from her immediate family."