A WOMAN and her lover have been jailed for life for murdering her husband.

Yasira Pervez, 22, of Pendle Street Accrington, and her lover Ian Priddle, 46, of Jubilee Road, Haslingden, must serve a total of 42 years for killing Khurum Mukhtar, 21, after luring him to a hotel room in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

After the case, police said the pair thought they would not be caught because they had committed the murder abroad. Detectives said they had got justice for a ‘young man whose life had been cruelly taken away’.

Mr Mukhtar’s mother told how her son’s death had taken away her reason to live. She said life was now difficult as there was no-one left to look after her.

Pervez and Priddle stabbed Khurum Mukhtar to death on Decmeber 30, 2006.

The lovers had flown out to Pakistan “under the guise of a holiday” six days before he was stabbed twice with a seven-inch butcher’s knife in Room 109 of the Comfort Inn Hotel.

Mr Mukhtar was taken to hospital but died 20 minutes later. Doctors found he had suffered two stab wounds, cuts to his hands, and a perforated lung, stomach and liver.

After killing him, they returned to their hotel room and took a trip with a pair of waiters to a village.

They boarded their flight home at 4am but were arrested after touching down at Manchester Airport on New Year’s Eve.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Brian Hoy, who worked on the investigation, said: "Khurrum Mukhtar was a young man who was filled with excitement at the prospect of starting a new life in England with his wife.

“He had even bought new clothes for their secret meeting, truly believing that she cared for him when all the time she and her lover were plotting to kill him.

"Yasira Pervez chose to take part in this marriage. If she had changed her mind then she could easily have stopped Khurrum coming to the UK. But she took advantage of his trust and, with help from Priddle, murdered him.

"They thought that if they went to Pakistan and killed Khurrum then they could not be caught, but they were wrong. This case has been a test of our capacity to overcome the obstacles of language, culture, different policing systems and politics to get justice for a young man who had his life cruelly taken from him.

"We would not have been able to get this conviction without help from the Pakistani police force, and we are grateful for their help throughout this investigation. “ Khurrum's mother Azra Bibi, who is in her 40s and flew from Pakistan to give evidence at the trial, said Mr Mukhtar was her only child.

She said: ”He was the only man in the family and after him there is no-one to carry the family name. He was my whole life and support and he was the only hope and reason I was living for. His death has affected my heath, and it is very difficult for me as there is no-one left to look after me now.

"I have nightmares about what happened to my son and how he met his death. I visit his grave every single day. In his short life he never hurt anybody and he was very excited to be joining his wife in the UK."

A spokesman for Khurrum's family in the UK also released a statement which read: “Khurrum's death has devastated us all and he will be greatly missed.

"We are pleased that this has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion in this country.”