Islamabad court to frame charges against suspects in Noor Mukadam case on Oct 6

ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Thursday announced to frame charges against all twelve suspects, including prime accused Zahir Zakir Jaffer, in the gruesome beheading of Noor Mukadam two months ago while another court reserved its judgment on the bail application of Zahir’s parents.
In a district and sessions court in the federal capital, Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani formally started the murder trial by distributing the copies of challan – or charge sheet – among the suspects.
At least six accused in the case, including the owner of Therapy Works counseling center, appeared before the court on Thursday on their own as they have all been on bail.
The judge directed the police to submit a complete challan in the case by October 6 so that charges could be framed against all the suspects.
The purpose of framing a charge is to give intimation to the accused of clear, unambiguous and precise notice of the nature of accusation that the accused is called upon to meet during the course of a trial.
Mukadam, the 27-year-old daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood on July 20 in a case that has sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women.
Zahir was arrested from the crime scene on the day of the murder. He was initially on police remand but was moved to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi city on judicial remand in early August.
Sajid Cheema, a public prosecutor in the case, said every suspect denies charges against him in the court and the same was also expected to happen in this case.
“After this process, the police will present all the related evidence in the case and the prosecution will bring witnesses to get their statements recorded [before the court],” Cheema told Arab News.
The principal suspect’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, are also under arrest along with three members of their household staff for a range of charges in relation to the case. Both parents had applied for a bail in Islamabad High Court after it was rejected from a district court.
The Islamabad High Court on Thursday reserved the judgment in the bail application and is likely to announce it anytime in the coming days.
During the hearing, the investigation officer of the case Inspector Abdul Sattar revealed the police were still waiting for a forensic report of the mobile phones of Noor and Zahir from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The screen of Zahir’s phone was found smashed while the FIA was still striving to find the password of Noor’s phone to access its data, the investigator told the court.
“There are a lot of experts available in the market, you may look for a hacker [to crack the password],” Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court remarked.
Advocate Shah Khawar, who is representing the Mukadam family, requested the court to deny bail to Zahir’s parents as he said they were involved in the murder. He informed the court that the suspect was in touch with his parents over the phone before and after the murder, adding that they knew about the incident and had a link to it.
The judge, however, remarked the call data record could only confirm that phone calls were made between the said individuals but not reveal the content of the conversation.
The court was also told that a citizen named Zubair had informed the police at 9:45pm on July 20 about Noor’s murder at Jaffer’s residence in Islamabad.
Khawar also requested the judicial authority to form a special court to hold daily hearing of the trial, but the judge pointed out that the ordinance related to the establishment of special courts had already expired.
“It seems like you want to delay the case [by repeatedly referring to special courts],” the judge remarked.
Khawar, however, denied the notion.
“You can move a separate application for the special court,” Justice Aamer Farooq asked the lawyer of the Mukadam family.