Naveed Ahmad Khan
The grisly murdered of Noor Mukadam in the heart of Islamabad on 20 July 2021 (some six month ago) but unfortunately this high profile case still waiting for justice. Twenty-seven-year-old Noor Mukadam, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was murdered and beheaded in a posh neighborhood of Islamabad in 20 July 2021. Noor’s body was found at Zahir Jaffer’s residence in Sector F-7/4, Islamabad. Initially police reports claimed that Noor was first shot and then beheaded. Zahir Jaffer – the prime suspect – is arrested from the crime scene and an FIR was registered against him at the Kohsar Police Station. According to police reports, Zahir had blood all over his clothes. Investigators say the two were friends and that Zahir had held Noor hostage for two days before brutally murdering her. Islamabad Investigations SSP Ata-ur-Rehman addressed a press conference on the circumstances under which Zahir Jaffer was arrested. He said the murder weapon and a pistol were seized from the suspect and refutes the earlier report that said Zahir had shot Noor before beheading her. SSP says no firearms were used. Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the gruesome murder and asked the IG to ensure no concessions were made in the investigation. Following which, Zahir’s name was recommended for the Exit Control List (ECL) and the investigation team was asked to acquire the suspect’s criminal records from the United Kingdom and the United States. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other ministers condemned the Noor murder but still case is waiting for the justice. A few days back, Doctors at the Adiala Jail declared the main accused in the Noor Mukadam murder case Zahir Jaffer as menially and physically fit to stand trial. The reports presented by the doctors before Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani stated that Jaffer had gone through multiple medical procedures and a psychiatrist had examined his mental health which, according to him, is stable. “Zahir Jaffer is physically and mentally healthy,” the doctor told the court. His counsel had pleaded with the court to get him medically examined, after which the court had directed the authorities for his check-up. All the prosecution witnesses recorded their statements in Noor Macadam’s case, including the investigation officer (IO) Abdul Sattar. The witnesses were cross-examined before, however, the investigation officer was cross-examined in today’s session. Zahir Jaffer was presented before the court on a stretcher today, while previously, he had appeared before the court in a wheelchair to claim that he was mentally ill. The accused was continuously groaning during the court hearing, per reports. The father of the accused Zakir Jaffer was also called before the court. During the court hearing, the Investigation Officer Sattar said that he received the Call Detail Record (CDR) of five people on July 27. Upon being asked about Noor Mukadam’s call data, he said that the police hadn’t obtained the WhatsApp call record because they did not know about the calls made by Noor to her parents. He further told the court that Noor’s father Shaukat Mukadam talked to Zakir Jaffer for 11 minutes at 1:53pm on the day of the murder, July 20, adding that there are not any eye-witnesses of the murder. According to the sources, the further hearing of the case will take place on January 24. The prime suspect in the murder of Noor Mukadam, Zahir, was formally charged for the crime by an Islamabad court in October 2021. Besides him, two of the family’s employees — Jamil and Jan Mohammad — were also
indicted, along with Zahoor