ISLAMABAD: People across the globe have donated $49,843 to help fight the court case of a 27-year-old girl who was brutally murdered on July 20, a lawyer representing the bereaved said on Friday, while police said they had yet to decide if they wanted to extend the physical remand of main suspect Zahir Jaffer.
The police on Friday took the main accused, Zahir Zakir Jaffer, to the Punjab Forensic Laboratory in Lahore where he took a polygraph test. A forensic analysis of the CCTV footage acquired from his residence was also performed at the facility.
“The polygraph test of the suspect and other important forensic analysis of the evidence collected from the crime scene will help strengthen the case,” Inspector Abdul Sattar, who is investigating Noor Mukadam’s murder, told Arab News on Friday.
Jaffer was arrested from the crime scene soon after the murder last Tuesday and has since remained in police custody on physical remand. His parents are also under arrest.
Jaffer’s latest three-day physical remand is expiring tomorrow (Saturday), and the police have yet to decide if they want to get it extended to complete their investigation.
“We will discuss it with the high-ups tonight if we need Zahir Jaffer on further physical remand,” the investigation officer said.
He declined to divulge further details of the case.
The brutal killing and beheading of the daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam has sent shockwaves through the country, prompting people to demand justice in the case.
Salaar Khan, one of the lawyers representing the Mukadams, told Arab News some friends and family members of the victim had launched the fundraising campaign on GoFundMe on Wednesday which generated over $49,000 to fight her case in Pakistani courts.
He said the fund was closed down on Friday on the request of the victim’s father after a sufficient amount was collected.
“Shaukat Mukadam said it was sufficient for now and thanked all the donors,” Khan saud, adding that unspent funds would be donated to similar causes.
He said all lawyers, including Shah Khawar and his associates, were currently providing pro bono services to the Mukadam family, though he added the case could go on for years and the victim’s family might require these funds to pay the legal team.
Meanwhile, a local court in Islamabad on Friday deferred the bail petition of the suspect’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, until August 4 after Shaukat Mukadam said he needed time until Monday to get a lawyer.
“The courts usually grant bail to the accused in cases wherein the maximum punishment is under ten years,” Khan said. “We will oppose the bail, but let’s see what the court decides.”
He continued that even if bail was granted, it would not impact the overall case.
Police say yet to decide on remand extension of suspect in Noor Mukadam case
https://arab.news/5p6g4
Police say yet to decide on remand extension of suspect in Noor Mukadam case
- Over $49,000 raised for legal case of murdered ex-diplomat’s daughter, lawyers say
- Main suspect Zahir Jaffer taken to Punjab Forensic Laboratory for a polygraph test, forensic analysis
Pakistan offers Turkmenistan its Arabian Sea ports for wider access to ‘South Asia and beyond’
- PM Sharif meets Turkmen president in Ashgabat, calls for deeper trade and energy cooperation
- Islamabad cites Karachi and Gwadar as key to boosting regional connectivity, including TAPI links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged Turkmenistan to expand trade and connectivity through Karachi and Gwadar, saying its Arabian Sea ports offer Turkmen businesses and exporters a direct route to South Asian and global markets, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said after high-level talks in Ashgabat.
Pakistan and Turkmenistan have long discussed regional transport corridors and energy cooperation, including the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline, a proposed multibillion-dollar project that would carry Turkmen natural gas south through Afghanistan into Pakistan and India. Islamabad has also pushed to link the landlocked Central Asian states to the sea by offering transit access through its deep-water ports, which sit at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Sharif met Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan, in Ashgabat as both countries look to revive momentum in bilateral engagement after years of regional instability. Pakistan has supported Turkmen neutrality policies at the United Nations, while Ashgabat has backed Pakistan during crises, including helping evacuate Pakistani nationals caught in Iran during the Iran–Israel conflict earlier this year.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to enhance connectivity with Turkmenistan through land and sea routes and said that Karachi and Gwadar ports were ideally located to be utilized by the Turkmen side to enhance their outreach to South Asia and beyond,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sharif reiterated his intention to deepen trade and economic ties with Turkmenistan, saying enhanced transport links and energy cooperation could anchor long-term regional integration. He invited President Berdimuhamedow and Turkmenistan’s national leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, on official visits to Pakistan next year.
Sharif is on a two-day visit to Turkmenistan for the International Forum on Peace and Trust, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Energy Minister Awais Leghari, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and senior officials.
Turkmenistan’s president thanked Sharif for attending the UN-backed peace forum and said Ashgabat was keen to expand cooperation across multiple sectors, according to the statement.
