ISLAMABAD: Zahir Zakir Jaffer, son of businessman Zakir Jaffer, first tortured Noor Mukadam with knuckleduster and then slaughtered her mercilessly. A police official, investigating this most-shocking and a heinous murder in Islamabad’s posh area last week, told the duty magistrate Suhaib Bilal Ranjha.
Islamabad police have got six days remand of the accused in two stages to interrogate the brutal killer of Noor Mukadam, daughter of former ambassador of Pakistan Shaukat Ali Mukadam. On Monday (July 26), Islamabad police got another two days physical remand of the accused with a view that mobile phone of the killer and data will have to be retrieved to complete report of this murder case.
Former ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the father of the deceased woman, reached the court of Judge Ranjha at around 10:30am. He remained outside the court for over four hours as the police produced the accused after much delay.
The counsel for the complainant, Shah Khawar, told media that the police did not invoke Section 311 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), keeping in view the gruesomeness of the murder. He said the first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 302 of the PPC which is a compoundable offence and can be settled under a compromise. He also stated that Section 311 was related to Fisad-fil-Arz, which made the offence non-compoundable, therefore, the matter could not be settled out of court.
Ex-ambassador Shoukat Mukadam, who was present outside court room when the killer Zahir Jaffer was to be presented in the court, he told media representatives that he would never compromise over the murder of her daughter and ensure that the killer is punished.
Meanwhile, SSP Investigation Islamabad, Ataur Rahman told Rauf Klasra in his YouTube programme that the police have gathered all the crime scene evidence that could be used to punish the accused for killing Noor Mukadam. SSP said that the police was interrogating parents of killer and servants because they did not inform police when Zahir Zakir Jaffer was torturing Noor Mukadam.
SSP Ataur Rahman said a neighbour called the police after hearing shrieks of the girl when Zahir was torturing her. Aslo, parents of Zahir called in people from Therapyworks to handle the situation and they avoided informing police. During investigation, police will determine the negligence of parents of Zahir in this case and why they and their servants did not report the matter to the police, he added.
SSP said that some friends of Noor and Zahir can become witnesses in this case to support police to complete probe, while the neighbour who informed police and servants of Zakir Jaffer will be asked to become witnesses in this case. SSP Investigation Islamabad said the law allows police to use legal course to make witnesses to those who have seen crime. SSP also disclosed that the accused try to shoot Noor with pistol, but the bullet got stuck up in the chamber of the pistol.
SSP Ataur Rahman also said that when police arrested Zahir Jaffer from the crime scene, he was stable and normal. However, during remand the killer was trying to demonstrate an abnormal behavior.
Meanwhile, Islamabad police was also looking as to why parents of the killer called in Therapyworks people, where Zahir Jaffer was working as a consultant and why did they not inform the police. Islamabad administration has sealed the Therapyworks center on Sunday.
When Judge Ranjha took up the case, the investigating officer informed him that the police had recovered a pistol, knife, and a knuckleduster from the accused after he was taken into custody. He said clothes of the deceased and blood samples had been obtained from the crime scene while statements of the witnesses were recorded under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
During the proceedings, a plainclothes police official was seen whispering in the ear of the accused, perhaps updating him about the hearing.
According to the FIR, the complainant and his wife had been away separately for making some Eid-related arrangements. Father of Noor, Shaukat Ali Mukadam said when they returned home, their daughter was not there, adding that his wife tried to contact her on her mobile phone but it was switched off. Later, Noor Mukadam called herself and told them that she was going to Lahore with her friends and would return in a day or two and that they should not worry, Shaukat Mukadam said in the FIR.
Furthermore, on July 20, he received a phone call in the afternoon from the accused who told him that Noor was not with him. However, at 10pm he was informed by Kohsar police that his daughter had been murdered and asked him to come to the police station. The police took Mr Mukadam to the house where he found the beheaded body of his daughter.
According to police, Zahir Jaffer was a dual national of US and Pakistan and held passports of both countries.
They said names of people wanted by the police were placed on the PNIL for 30 days. The officers said police directly informed the immigration authorities to put the name of wanted people on the list, which they immediately did, whereas in case of the Exit Control List (ECL), the process was time consuming.
Explaining the ECL process, the officers said a request was made to the interior ministry, which then referred the matter to the cabinet for final decision. While putting the name on PNIL, approval from an authority was not required, they added.
The investigators are interrogating the accused for recovery of the items, including his passports, he added.
On the other hand, samples of the victim’s internal organs as well as nail scrapings had been handed over to the police who will send them for chemical examination, the investigators said, adding that DNA test would also be conducted to find out whether the woman was sexually assaulted.
A final report will be submitted once necessary details were received from the forensic department, the investigators said.
