Noor Mukadam Case: Court To Announce Verdict On Feb 24

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Noor Mukadam case: Court to announce verdict on Feb 24

District and Sessions court judge Ata Rabbani has reserved the judgment after hearing complete arguments of both sides in the high-profile case.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Feb 22nd, 2022) A local court on Tuesday reserved the verdict in high-profile case regarding murder of Noor Mukadam after multiple twists and deferrals.

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

The counsels for the accused had already completed his arguments on the last hearing.

Zahir Jaffar, the counsel for the accused, also appeared before the court. During the hearing,

Advocate Khawar Shah, the counsel representing Noor's father, argued on the case, submitted details and events before the murder as per the CCTV footage submitted in evidence.

The counsel argued that the case had solid evidence against the accused, based on DVR, CDR, forensic and DNA reports, pointing out that all the evidence gathered scientifically were made part of the case.

He argued that prosecution proved the case against Zahir Jaffar and pleaded with the court to award strict punishment to all the accused involved in the case.

Prosecutor Rana Hassan asked: "What would have a father gone through when he saw the decapitated body of his daughter?". He argued that the biggest evidence against Jaffer was 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.

The prosecutor said that the court should make this case an example by punishing the accused as strictly as possible.

The counsel for the accused, however, opposed the arguments of the prosecution, saying that the prosecution had claimed that every object [evidence against accused] had Zahir's fingerprints, but it was still unable to state the reason for why his fingerprints weren't found on the murder weapon.

He also raised a question as to why not Noor's mother made part of the investigations.

"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.

On February 10, Zahir Jaffar had pleaded not guilty to the crime. He said 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 last six months."

Zahir said that on July 28, she voluntarily came to his house with a huge quantity of drugs. He said Noor asked him to host a drug party but he refused.

He told the court that on July 20, Noor invited her friends to the said party and he was alone at home at the time as his parents and other family members were in Karachi for Eid celebrations.

Zahir Jaffer said that a few hours later when he woke up he found himself tied in his lounge and after a few minutes, police and people in civil clothes reached there and rescued him.

He said that when he was rescued he came to know that Noor was murdered by someone attending he drug party or someone else murdered her. He claimed that Noor’s father was an “influential” person and got him involved in the case by pressurising the police.

Zahir Jaffar, the prime suspect in the murder of Noor Mukadam, was formally charged for he 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 Islamabad's F-7 area.

Former Pakistan ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam had lodged an FIR with Kohsar police station against the suspects. Following the murder, 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.

Abdullah Hussain

Abdullah Hussain is a staff member who writes on politics, human rights, social issues and climate change.