The brother of a businessman murdered in Pakistan fears the charges against the man accused of killing him may be thrown out.

Imran Uddin is due to face a judge in Karachi in two weeks accused of the kidnap and murder of 28-year-old Salman Sabir.

But Mr Sabir's elder brother, Ubaid Mughal, of Heaton, Bradford, said he expected Mr Uddin's solicitor to ask the judge to throw the case out through lack of evidence.

Mr Mughal, 35, a freelance journalist, said the family would be hiring lawyers to try to prove to the court that Pakistani police had mishandled the case.

He said the family had a mobile phone video recording of a police interview with Uddin which they say should be admitted as evidence. but which the police have apparently been reluctant to include in their case.

Mr Sabir, a clothing importer whose two brothers and fiancee live in Heaton, vanished in Karachi on April 21 after arranging a business meeting.

His body was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Karachi 18 days later.

Police investigators said Uddin, a close friend and associate of Mr Sabir, had confessed to shooting him at his factory in Karachi to avoid repaying a £10,000 loan, putting the body in a car boot and throwing it into a river.

When he first appeared in court he admitted finding Mr Sabir's body, but denied killing him.

Mr Mughal said: "He can make admissions to the police but he can then deny it in front of the judge. It is then the duty of the police to get more evidence against him, but that does not seem to be happening.

"A family friend, who is involved in business politics in Pakistan, was able to be present during the initial police interview, which he recorded on his mobile phone video.

"Uddin confessed at the interview to killing Salman, putting his body in the car boot and throwing it in the river.

"We told the police we had made the video but they tried to ignore it when they were making the official report for the court. They told us not to mention it, but in the end they reluctantly put it in.

"We feel helpless about getting justice because of the police behaviour, but we are hiring our own solicitors to prove to the court that the police have mishandled the case because we have totally lost faith in them. The police were very polite and friendly during the interviews. They did not try to force him to answer questions.

"There are so many crimes happening in the world. If you get justice then you can be satisfied, but if we cannot get justice there is no satisfaction. My father is not interested in the world. He cries and finds this very hard."

Mr Mughal claimed police had not sealed off or searched Mr Uddin's factory and had not examined his brother's car, alleged to have been used to dump the body, or interviewed his brother.

Mr Uddin is awaiting trial. The charges carry a possible death sentence in Pakistan.

Mr Sabir split his time between Pakistan and Bradford, but had bought a house in the city and planned to live here after marrying his fiancee, Noreen Akhtar, 27.