ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police on Sunday arrested six new suspects, including the owner of counselling center Therapy Works, over their alleged involvement in last month’s gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam.
Mukadam was found beheaded at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 sector on July 20 in a case that has sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The victim was the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.
Key suspect Zahir Jaffer, who is on judicial remand in Adiala Jail in Islamabad’s twin city of Rawalpindi, was arrested from the crime scene, his home, on the day of the murder. Last week, DNA tests conducted on clothes, the weapon of offense and other material collected from the crime scene confirmed Jaffer was the killer. On Monday, he will be presented before a judicial magistrate as police are scheduled to submit a detailed charge-sheet (challan) against him.
Jaffer was reportedly practicing as a psychotherapist after enrolling in a certification course from Therapy Works.
The persons arrested on Sunday are center’s owner Tahir Zahoor and his five employees. Inspector Abdul Sattar, who is investigating the case, presented them before Islamabad district magistrate Shehzad Khan who approved their one-day physical remand.
“Accused Tahir Zahoor was in contact with the parents of the accused (Zahir Jaffer), and as a result of that contact a team was sent to crime scene,” the court said in its order, referring to the Therapy Works employees.
While Zahoor’s counsel said the accused “is old age person and has no nexus with commission of the offense,” according to last month’s media reports, the Therapy Works team had reached the crime scene before police.
“The real facts are yet to be determined by the investigation in respect of the present accused persons and their role in the whole occurrence,” the court said.
Police said they will collect the suspects’ DNA samples for a forensic analysis.
According to court and police documents seen by Arab News, one of the arrested had been injured by Jaffer using a “blunt weapon” when the Therapy Works team arrived at the crime scene, and had to be hospitalized, but is now fit to join the investigation.
They will be presented before court on Monday.
Islamabad police arrest six new suspects in Noor Mukadam murder case
https://arab.news/6rjjc
Islamabad police arrest six new suspects in Noor Mukadam murder case
- Arrested are employees of Therapy Works where key suspect Zahir Jaffer was reportedly enrolled in a certification course
- On Monday, Jaffer will be presented before a judicial magistrate as police are scheduled to submit a detailed charge-sheet (challan) against him
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
