ISLAMABAD: Citing concerns of possible obstruction of justice, the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a bail plea by the parents of Zahir Zakir Jaffer, the prime suspect in July’s gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam.
Mukadam, 27, 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. Police arrested Jaffer from the crime scene on the day of the murder. Jaffer’s parents and a cook, gardener and a security guard at the Jaffer home are also under arrest and being investigated on various charges, including abetment and concealment of evidence.
The parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, had made a bail appeal with the IHC after it was rejected by a district court last month.
“The case is almost ripe for trial, hence there is every likelihood that if they are enlarged on bail they might obstruct the course of justice, tamper with the prosecution evidence and/or try to influence the trial,” Judge Aamer Farooq said in the IHC’s decision.
A local court in Islamabad said last week that it will frame by October 6 charges against all suspects, including the prime suspect’s parents, their household staff and six employees of Therapy Works, an Islamabad-based counselling facility, who reached the crime scene on the request of Jaffer’s father to “conceal the crime and destroy the evidence,” according to a detailed charge sheet filed by police investigators and seen by Arab News.
The IHC has directed the court to conclude the trial within two months.
“Since the trial is about to commence as it is expected that on 06.10.2021 the charge shall be framed,” the court order said. “The learned Trial Court is directed to conclude the trial expeditiously preferably within eight weeks from the framing of charge.”
High court denies bail to parents of prime suspect in Noor Mukadam murder
https://arab.news/86y93
High court denies bail to parents of prime suspect in Noor Mukadam murder
- Islamabad High Court directs trial court to conclude its proceedings within two months
- Trial in the murder case is scheduled to commence on October 6
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
