Verdict in Noor Mukadam murder case on Feb 24

ISLAMABAD: Following multiple twists and deferrals, a local court in Islamabad has finally reached a decision in the high-profile case pertaining to the murder of Noor Mukadam.

District and Sessions Court Judge Ata Rabbani reserved the verdict in the case, after petitioner's counsel completed his arguments in the case. The reserved verdict will be announced on February 24.

The counsel representing the accused had already presented their final arguments in the last hearing. At the outset of Tuesday's hearing, the main accused, Zahir Jaffer, was presented before the court.

Advocate Khawar Shah, counsel representing Noor's father, restated the details and events before the murder as per the CCTV footage submitted in evidence. "The case has solid evidence against the accused, based on DVR, CDR, forensic and DNA reports. All the evidence gathered scientifically has been made part of the case," he said.

Maintaining that the prosecution has proved the case against Zahir, the counsel pleaded to the court to award strict punishment to all the accused. Meanwhile, prosecutor Rana Hassan asked: "What would have a father gone through when he saw the decapitated body of his daughter?"

He contended that the biggest evidence against Jaffer is that he was arrested from the crime scene with the murder weapon and bloodstained clothes and the DVR was declared authentic and presented as the last evidence in the case.

"Each and every Pakistani is following [developments in] this case and observing how the country's system is working. The court should make this case an example by punishing the accused as strictly as possible," the prosecutor stated.

Countering the prosecution's arguments, Zahir's counsel maintained that the prosecution has been claiming that every object [evidence against accused] has Zahir's fingerprints, but it is still unable to state the reason for why his fingerprints weren't found on the murder weapon.

Why wasn't Noor's mother made part of the investigations, he questioned. "Noor Mukadam could have called anyone to inform [about her situation] by locking herself in a bathroom but she didn't."

After completion of the arguments, the court reserved the verdict for announcement on February 24. The case took a new turn on February 10, when Zahir pleaded not guilty to the crime. On behalf of the main accused, his lawyer submitted his client’s defence in the case in a questionnaire given by the court.

Zahir told the court that he was in a "relationship" with the victim for a long time and both the families also knew each other. However, he clarified that he was “not in touch with Noor for six months."

“On July 18, she voluntarily came to my house with a huge quantity of drugs. Noor told me to host a drug party and I refused,” said Zahir. The accused then claimed before the court that on July 20 the victim invited her friends to the said party. He added he was alone at home at the time, as his parents and other family members were in Karachi for Eid celebrations.

“A few hours later when I woke up, I found myself tied in my lounge,” said Jaffer, adding that after a few minutes, uniformed police and people in civil clothes “rescued” him. “When I was rescued, I got to know that Noor was murdered by someone attending the drug party or someone else murdered her,” said Jaffer.

He also claimed that the victim’s father is an “influential” person and got him involved in the case by pressurising the police. 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.

Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman, was murdered on July 20 within the limits of the Kohsar Police Station in the federal capitals's F-7 area. A case of murder was later registered at the same police station by Noor's father, former Pakistani ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam. The Islamabad police arrested suspect Zahir on the night of July 20 from his house where, according to Noor's parents, he killed her with a sharp instrument and severed her head.