Noor Mukadam’s murder: Hour by hour story of pain and despair

ISLAMABAD: It seems a casual text message from 27-year-old Noor Mukadam to a ‘friend’ led her to a dreadful and deadly end. The 46-hour long and painful ordeal of Noor began when she got reconnected with the alleged killer after a gap of two months.

A glimpse into what might have happened to Noor during the last hours of her life showed a grim tale of despair, anxiety, helplessness and detachment. Zahir Zakir Jaffer received a text message from Noor Mukadam after a long break on July 18, 2021. The alleged killer responded to her with a voice call within four minutes at 9pm as if he was waiting for it.

Geo News had seen an exclusive communiqué between Noor and Zahir. Also, their communications with their family members suggest that the killer was in constant touch with his family members during critical hours when this murder happened between 2pm to 7pm at Jaffer House on July 20, 2021. During this time, the suspect also talked to Noor's father and mother.

The preliminary findings of investigators, Geo News learnt on authority, revealed that Noor left her home at around 9:05pm for Zakir's house on July 18, 2021. She was at her home at Naval Anchorage, Islamabad when she received a call from Zahir. Record shows he was in the surroundings of Ali Plaza in Islamabad’s Blue Area at the time.

Noor then sent him two text messages enquiring his whereabouts when she was crossing Abbas Plaza in Islamabad at 9:45pm. She arrived at Jaffer House, situated in Sector F-7/4, Islamabad at around 10pm on July 18, 2021. The next 24 hours are mired in a strange silence, as no communication record is available for the period.

Things started worsening after 11pm on the night of 19th July at Jaffer House. Zahir had a fight with Noor soon after her cell phone vibrated with a series of texts from her parents (Mukadams), police’s preliminary findings suggest. Noor was extremely nervous and worried about uncalled for happenings that she came across at the suspect's residence. Ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam, father of the unfortunate girl, sent her three text messages at past midnight (12:57am) asking her 'whereabouts and wellbeing.' Noor never responded to these texts.

In-fact, Noor was not allowed to use her phone by Zahir, police further said. Then her mother sent her a text after 1am to which she did not respond too. The father sent her two texts again but Noor did not reply her parents' texts the whole night. Her mother tried to contact her through voice/text messages while two of her family friends tried to call her but received no response till 5:48am in the morning.

Noor managed to send the last voice message of her life to her mother from Zahir's house at 10:43am on July 20, 2021. "I cannot share the body of this text," Noor's mother told this correspondent. After this text, the real misery started for Noor after Zahir snatched her phone and called her mother three times at around 10:56am. Zahir spoke to Noor's mother from his own cellular phone for some 20 minutes, telling her that 'Noor is not here at his house.'

From 11am to 7:30pm on July 20, Noor was held in captivity. She was brutally tortured and finally beheaded. This was the time when Zahir was constantly in touch with his mother on the phone. He spoke to his mother, Asmat Jaffer, for 71.56 minutes before and after killing Noor at his house. Geo News has exclusively revealed that the alleged killer spoke to his mother at 2:21pm, then at 3:03pm and then again at 4:17pm.

Meanwhile, he continued torturing Noor and then he again phoned his mother thrice between 6:35pm and 6:42pm. Then last time he spoke to his mother at 7:30pm where according to police he told her about Noor's death. Records show that Noor and Zahir were in regular contact with each other soon after the alleged killer returned to Pakistan on December 6, 2019. He never travelled abroad after that and was staying in Pakistan.

Zahir made contact with Noor for 68 times in the past three months while Noor approached him 47 times during this period. "I am so sad. My daughter has gone to Allah. My world is over now," Noor's mother told this correspondent. "My daughter was an angel & her killer must go to Hell." Speaking to Geo News, Noor's elder sister said: "Our family is in deep shock and pain. Justice must prevail."

Noor was very close to her mother as she made some 300 exclusive communiqués during a short span of time while living in the heart of the Capital. Exclusive communiqués further suggested that Zahir never contacted any other member of Mukadam family; nor anyone from them called the alleged killer.

Geo News approached the American Embassy in Islamabad and the US Law and Justice Department for their version of this bone-chilling incident as the alleged killer is a US national. "Unfortunately, we cannot comment on this due to privacy concerns," said Heather G. Eaton, spokesperson for the US Embassy. Response from Bryant University in the US is also awaited where Zahir reportedly studied. Geo News sought answers on questions linked to the suspect's professional conduct during his stay at the university, if there were any.

In a separate development, the US Embassy in Islamabad tweeted yesterday afternoon saying; “In a foreign country, US citizens are subject to that country’s laws. When Americans are arrested abroad, the Embassy can check on their well-being and provide a list of lawyers, but cannot provide legal advice, participate in court proceedings or effect their release.”