Rana is now faces life in prison after being convicted of Mrs Asia's murder

Wife Ayesha Riaz, 28, had left their Wolverhampton home after he beat her

The 31-year-old killed Gulam Asia, 49, at her home after his wife left him

Tariq Rana, 31, is facing a life sentence after being convicted of murdering his mother-in-law Gulam Asia, 49, in a revenge attack after his wife left him

An abusive husband who travelled from Wolverhampton to Pakistan to gun down his mother-in-law after his wife left him is facing life behind bars.

Tariq Rana, 31, recruited an unknown accomplice to pose as a delivery man before shooting 49-year-old Gulam Asia twice when she answered the door to her home in Lahore, Pakistan.

The revenge killing came after Rana's 28-year-old wife Ayesha Riaz split up with him and left their marital home in Wolverhampton, after she was subjected to vicious beatings at the hands of her husband.

Rana denied carrying out the killing, but a jury today found him guilty of murder at Woolwich Crown Court.

His sister, Nargus Ahmed, 33, and brother-in-law Muhammad Adeel, 35, were accused of helping him escape Pakistan before he could be arrested, but were acquitted of assisting an offender.

The court heard how Rana, a British national, married Mrs Asia's eldest daughter Ayesha in Pakistan in 2011 in an arranged ceremony, before bringing her back to the UK.

From the start of the marriage he was possessive and physically abusive towards her and regularly subjected her to vicious beatings.

She eventually escaped their home in May 2012 and went to stay with an aunt, who also lived in the UK. Her two eldest brothers, Ifran Toor and Abdur Rehman, also lived in Britain.

Simon Denison, QC, said: 'From the start of their marriage Rana was often violent towards Ayesha.

'She says that he was physically violent to her about twice a month, and that him shouting at her and verbally abusing her was routine.

'He was jealous, he was controlling and on many occasions he told her that if she ever left him he would kill her.'

He continued: 'Matters came to a head on May 13, 2012 when Ayesha and Rana attended the wedding of his cousin in Birmingham.

'That evening he slapped her hard in the face after accusing her of looking at other men - the next day she resolved to leave him.

'She called her brother Ifran who came to collect her. Rana tried to stop her from leaving and Irfan called the police.

'Ayesha and her brother made witness statements to the police that day, setting out what had happened.'

Rana's sister, Nargus Ahmed, 33 (pictured outside court, right) and brother-in-law Muhammad Adeel, 35 (left), were accused of helping him escape Pakistan before he could be arrested, but were acquitted of assisting an offender today. Rana, however, will now be sentenced on Friday after being convicted of murdering Mrs Asia

Rana refused to accept his wife could leave him and made hundreds of phone calls begging her to come back.

He then began threatening to harm members of her family including her mother and her siblings if she refused to return to him.

After harassing Ms Riaz for several months, Rana stopped and the family believed he had accepted that his estranged wife was not coming back.

However, he then went to Pakistan and plotted the revenge killing.

The court heard how he took an accomplice, who posed as a delivery man with an envelope for Mrs Asia - giving Rana the chance to shoot her twice as she came to the front gate to collect it.

She died hours later from internal injuries caused by two gunshot wounds.

Mr Denison said: 'Within minutes of shooting her, Rana texted his sister, the second defendant Nargus Ahmed, telling her what he had done.

'Within hours, he made a series of telephone calls demanding they put Ayesha on a plane to Lahore within 48 hours, and if they didn't he would kill them all, one by one.'

Rana claimed during the trial that he had nothing to do with the shooting and was at Mrs Asia's home with a 'bodyguard' to try and reconcile with his wife.

Rana denied carrying out the killing, but a jury today found him guilty of murder at Woolwich Crown Court

An argument ensued, during which two gunshots were fired by either the bodyguard or a member of Mrs Asia's own family, he told the jury.

However, he was convicted of murder and will be now sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday.

He was prosecuted in the UK under the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which gives authority for a UK national to stand trial for a murder committed overseas.

Speaking after the verdicts DCI Tim Duffield, of the Met Police, said: 'This was not a spontaneous event, but rather a revenge-driven premeditated attack aimed at causing the maximum distress and suffering to his estranged wife and her family.

'It is also important to recognise the considerable assistance we received from the Pakistani authorities, without which justice for Mrs Asia's family would not have been possible.