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ISLAMABAD: A sessions court in Islamabad today (Tuesday) sent parents of Zahir Zakir Jaffer and two other suspects to jail on a 14-day judicial remand for their alleged involvement in the murder of Noor Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani ambassador.
The suspects were presented before Judicial Magistrate Shoaib Akhtar’s court today. At the outset of the hearing, the police requested the judge for a 14-day judicial remand of the suspects.
After hearing the request, the judge asked the plaintiffs whether they would like to present their arguments in the case. The lawyers responded by saying that they will not present their arguments if the judge will send the suspects to jail on remand.
The court, on hearing this, approved the remand and the suspects — Zakir Jaffer, Asmat Adamjee, Iftikhar and Jameel — were ordered to be sent to Adiala Jail.
However, before the hearing could be dismissed, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, the lawyer for Zakir Jaffer and his wife, asked the court that he be allowed to meet his clients. The court accepted the request of the lawyer and the suspects were once again brought inside the court where the counsel met his clients.
After speaking to his clients, Abbasi appealed to the court to discharge Zakir Jaffer and his wife from the case. At this, Judge Akhtar remarked that the court has already issued orders for judicial remand and cannot entertain the appeal.
Following the verdict, the parents of Zahir Zakir Jaffer moved a bail petition in the district and sessions court against their detention. Admitting the petition, the court issued a notice to the police and fixed July 30 as the date for hearing.
The murder
The brutal murder of Noor, 27, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, came to light on July 20 when she was found dead at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4.
A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Jaffer, who was arrested from the site of the murder, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s father.
Later on July 24, Islamabad police had also arrested the parents and household staff of Zahir for “hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime”.
