ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad Tuesday reserved its judgment in the Noor Mukadam murder case.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani will announce the verdict in the brutal murder case on February 24. The court reserved the verdict after the arguments in the case were concluded.
At the outset of today's hearing, plaintiff Shaukat Mukadam’s counsel, in his final arguments, apprised the court that the CCTV footage of the crime scene showed that Zahir Jaffer, the prime accused in the murder case, forcibly took the victim to a room.
Reiterating the details of the murder and timeline of the events, lawyer Nisar Asghar said that both Jaffer and Mukadam went outside the house at 2:46am and returned at 2:50am.
For the first time since Mukadam was held hostage by Jaffer, she managed to go outside the main gate at 2:41 but at the same time, a guard foiled her fleeing attempt, he said.
Meanwhile, Shah Khawar, another lawyer of the complainant, said that DVR, CDR, forensic and DNA reports are solid evidence against the accused in the murder case. He maintained that the evidence were collected on a scientific basis. The lawyer said that the prosecution has proved the case against the accused and urged the court to hand down a severe punishment.
In his arguments, prosecutor Rana Hassan said that the arrest of Zahir Jaffer from the crime scene was the biggest evidence against him. DVR has been taken as authentic and final evidence against Jaffer, he added.
“Zahir Jaffer had been taken into custody along with murder weapon from the crime scene,” he added. Jaffer’s clothes contained bloodstains at the time of his arrest, Hassan said.
The prosecutor said that a photogrammetry test conducted on a video in which Noor Mukaddam was seen making efforts to save her life confirmed that it was genuine.
He maintained that Zahir Jaffer was charged with counts of rape and murder.
“Noor Mukadam’s life could have been saved if Jaffer’s parents had informed the police,” the prosecutor added.
Later, Jaffer’s counsel Shahryar Nawaz completed his arguments in the murder case.
Meanwhile, the court reserved its verdict in the case and adjourned the hearing till February 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 Tahir Zahoor, the owner of a counselling and psychotherapy service named Therapy Works.
Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman, was murdered on July 20 within the limits of the Kohsar police station in Islamabad'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.