Attorneys of Zahir Jaffer, the main defendant in the murder trial of Noor Mukadam, filed a complaint against Islamabad’s Inspector General Ahsan Younas on Wednesday.
IGP Younas staged a “news conference in front of the media and sought to convey the appearance that judicial processes are performed incorrectly and require explanation,” according to the motion submitted by Zahir’s lawyer, Sikandar Zulqarnain.
It further claimed that the IG, along with other officials, was present outside the courtroom during the cross-examination of IO Abdul Sattar.
Instead of doing their “lawful obligations,” they were accused of “generating buzz” and seeking to “influence” the proceedings at court.
The petition requested that the IG and other authorities be ordered to do their jobs and allow the court to proceed with the matter lawfully.
A trial court judge voiced his disapproval earlier when the defence attorney for an accused in the Noor Mukadam case informed the court that the Islamabad police had issued a press release explaining the court procedures, including the cross-examination of the investigator.
Sitemap of the Murder Scene
Zahir’s lawyer submitted a second petition claiming that the IO’s map of the murder scene was “fabricated” and “incorrect” in the second petition.
According to the application, the IO failed to include all possible exits from the “alleged place of the incident” in his site design and “covered up” the green belt.
A notice on the matter was required, and a “personal” visit to the location was arranged.
It further requested that the IO be tried for “purgery and deposing false evidence before the court under oath,” according to the document.
A phone number verification
The counsel for Noor Mukadam sought, in a third application, that her father, Shaukat Mukadam, be subjected to cross-examination on a phone number he claimed to be that of his wife.
Application: “The cell number mentioned does not belong to either the complainant [Shaukat] or his wife, but to one Tasneem Jasnak with whom the complainant and deceased of this case were [sic] in constant contact,” the application read, adding that the information should be available on record of the case.
There were concerns that Shaukat Mukadam’s allegation was “doubtful” since his wife – the mother of Noor Mukadam – had never been involved in the inquiry and had not been “floated as a witness”.
