ISLAMABAD: Prosecutors will seek a speedy trial in last month's grisly murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, as police are expected to submit a detailed charge-sheet against the main suspect next week, officials said on Saturday.
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.
The key suspect, Zahir Zakir Jaffer, was arrested from the crime scene, his home, on the day of the murder. His judicial remand in Adiala Jail in Islamabad’s twin city of Rawalpindi will expire on Monday.
“This is a high-profile and sensitive case and court should decide on it as quickly as possible,” public prosecutor Sajid Cheema told Arab News.
He said the prosecution will ask the Ministry of Law and Justice to order a speedy trial in the case when police submit the charge-sheet.
"We are hopeful the investigators will submit the challan (charge-sheet) in the court against Zahir Jaffer in the next week as the investigation into it was almost complete," Cheema said. "Once the challan is submitted in the case, we want a day-to-day hearing for an early verdict."
Police have missed the legal deadline to submit the charge-sheet within 14 days of Jaffer's judicial remand, as they have yet to receive forensic reports of mobile phones of both the victim and the culprit in the case from the Forensic Science Agency in Lahore, Cheema said.
The police are also waiting for DNA reports of nine other suspects in the case.
“We are preparing the challan, and hopefully will submit it in the court next week,” Inspector Abdul Sattar, one of the investigators in the case, told Arab News.
While prosecutors are seeking an early verdict, they would be unable to proceed in case Mukadam's family forgives the suspect.
“Under the law, state can do nothing if the victim’s family pardons the killer and other suspects,” Cheema said.
But advocate Salaar Khan, who represents Mukadam's family in the case, said they are hoping to get Jaffer convicted.
“We are hopeful to get the key suspect convicted on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence in the case,” he said, adding they would opt for a speedy trial once the charge-sheet is submitted.
Earlier this month, DNA tests conducted on clothes, the weapon of offense and other material collected from the crime scene have already confirmed Jaffer was the killer.
