Grandfather of murdered lawyer kept terminal cancer secret from family to 'avoid distraction from case'

The grandfather of a pregnant lawyer who was pushed to her death from Arthur’s Seat did not tell his family he had terminal cancer because he didn't want to "divert attention" from her murder case - and died before her killer was jailed.

Relatives called Abdul Latif, 70, their “leading investigator” as they fought to get justice for Fawziyah Javed, 31, who was murdered by Kashif Anwar, 29.

They said Latif kept quiet about his terminal diagnosis until 48 hours before he died on 1 November because he didn’t want to “divert attention” from the case.

Fawziyah’s uncle, Shahid Farouk, 53, said Latif was present when his granddaughter’s body was identified on her birthday: 4 September, 2021.

And he said it was “devastating” he was unable to get the “closure” he had sought when Anwar was jailed for 20 years for Javed’s murder on Thursday.

He said: “He was like our leading investigating officer. He was with us all the way. But he sadly died from cancer. And the worst thing about it was that he kept it inside him.

“Doctors were telling him 'you must tell your family, you’ve not got long to live'. They gave him a year, but sadly he went within a couple of months.

“When we went to identify Fawziyah... we should have been celebrating her birthday, not going to a mortuary to identify her body, and Fawziyah’s grandad went with us.

“The reason why he didn’t want to tell anybody was that he knew the family was going through a lot of grief with Fawziyah’s ongoing case, so he didn’t want to trouble us and divert us to his attention.

“It wasn’t until 48 hours [before he died], when his condition deteriorated a lot, that he actually told us.

“It’s a huge blow for us, losing Fawziyah’s grandfather, not having the closure of the case before he passed away."

Javed was 17 weeks pregnant when she was murdered by her abusive husband Anwar.

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He lured her on a trip to Scotland before shoving her from Arthur's Seat, the 50ft natural landmark in Edinburgh on 2 September, 2021.

But she used her dying breaths to tell police her husband was responsible for her injuries, which helped lead to his successful conviction in Edinburgh’s High Court.

Farouk, paying tribute to the “god-gifted” lawyer, said Anwar would have pulled off the “perfect murder” if it was not for her intervention.

The businessman said: “He was a jealous, controlling freak. He didn’t show any remorse at all for what he did, taking not only her life but her child’s life as well.

“I would have said this guy is a psychopath. It beggars belief. Who would do that? A woman who was educated, she bought him things, and it just wasn’t enough for him.

“God gave her that strength that she was alive when the police got there.

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“But it was almost the perfect murder for him to get away with, had she not been alive [to tell the officers], I don’t think there would be much evidence.

“What person not only kills his wife but his own child as well? He showed no remorse whatsoever and he was a coward.

“He depleted our trust. I remember him telling us ‘I’ll look after her’. And they bought her home in a body bag. He’s completely ruined our lives."

He went on: “Fawziyah was god-gifted. She was educated, and she was the best in my family. She was an only child. She went to Gateways private school in Leeds. She was just very humble.

“Fawziyah was a lawyer by profession. She was a kind-hearted, honest girl. I never shouted at Fawziyah. I brought her up as my own niece. She was just impeccable.

"She was just a level-headed girl that didn’t show off about anything, that wanted to be loved, but unfortunately she met the wrong guy."