ISLAMABAD: The lawyer of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the grisly murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam in July last year, on Monday pleaded with an Islamabad trial court to order medical treatment of his client, who was brought into the courtroom in a chair.
Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood, in a case that has sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The key suspect was arrested from the crime scene on the day of the murder and has since been in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Others charged in the case include Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, their three household staff, Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six workers from Therapy Works, a counselling center from where Jaffer had received certification to become a therapist and where he had been receiving treatment in the weeks leading up to the murder.
The case is now in the concluding stage in the Islamabad district court, where additional sessions judge Atta Rabbani has been conducting the hearings. Eyewitnesses have been recording their statements in the case and defense attorneys cross-examining them. Inspector Abdul Sattar, who has investigated the case, also recorded his testimony before the court on Monday.
As the hearing began, Jaffer’s counsel objected to the proceeding and called it “illegal.” “The prime suspect Zahir Jaffer is not being presented [before the court] despite our repeated requests,” advocate Usman Riaz Gill objected.
The judge said he had already written a letter to prison authorities for the suspect’s medical examination. “You are trying to obstruct the proceeding by giving such statements,” Justice Rabbani told Jaffer’s lawyer, expressing his displeasure.
Later, police officials brought Jaffer in the courtroom while carrying him in a chair. The accused was handcuffed, wearing a trouser and jacket, and appeared to be listless and fragile. After his brief attendance, he was shifted back to a lock-up on the court premises.
“His mental health has deteriorated seriously,” Jaffer’s lawyer said, pleading the court for a written order for his client’s medical treatment.
The judge said he had already issued a written order for the purpose. To which, Jaffer’s lawyer said the order was not acted upon and therefore, they had submitted a new petition. The court was informed that Jaffer was facing “some medical issues” in the prison and was unable to walk, stand and move for the last ten days.
“That the accused Zahir is on wheelchair but prison authorities are not providing him proper medical treatment and playing with the life of a prisoner whose custody is under the control of this court,” read the application submitted on the behalf of Jaffer’s father Zakir Jaffer on Saturday.
Earlier in January, the court rejected an application seeking the constitution of a medical board to determine Jaffer’s mental health after he had twice been expelled from the courtroom for disrupting trial proceedings.
On one occasion, police officers had to carry Jaffer out of the courtroom building after he used indecent language and misbehaved with the judge. The Islamabad police later registered a criminal case against Jaffer for using “abusive language” and attempting suicide on the court premises.
In Monday’s hearing, the investigation officer in the case recounted the whole investigation process and the collection of evidence from the crime scene.
Defense lawyers also cross-examined Noor Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, who recorded his statement in the case on Saturday.
The court will resume hearing the case on January 20.
Lawyer seeks medical treatment as Zahir Jaffer appears before Islamabad court in chair
https://arab.news/y69qc
Lawyer seeks medical treatment as Zahir Jaffer appears before Islamabad court in chair
- Jaffer is accused of murdering 27-year-old Noor Mukadam in Islamabad in July 2021
- The judge says he has already issued written order for the suspect’s medical check-up
Pakistan says it is targeting militant infrastructure in Afghanistan as Kabul threatens to hit Islamabad
- Ata Tarar says Pakistan is carrying out ‘precise intelligence-based operations’ to avoid civilian casualties
- Afghan defense minister says the underlying dispute between the two sides is over the ‘Durand Line’ border
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it was conducting intelligence-based operations against militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan while attempting to avoid civilian casualties, as a senior Afghan Taliban official warned Kabul could retaliate by targeting Islamabad if Pakistani forces struck the Afghan capital.
The escalating rhetoric comes as cross-border fighting between the two neighbors intensifies following clashes that began last month when Afghan forces launched attacks on Pakistani military installations along the frontier. Kabul said the assault was retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes targeting what Islamabad called militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said last week the situation had effectively become “open war” between the two countries.
“Pakistan is only targeting terrorist infrastructures and support system with precise intelligence based operations ensuring no collateral damage takes place,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said in a statement.
He challenged the recent claims made by an Afghan defense ministry spokesperson earlier this week who said his country was making significant battlefield gains against Pakistan including the killing of 109 soldiers and the capture or destruction of 14 military posts in large scale attacks.
“These so called attacks by Afghan Taliban in coordination with FAK [Fitna Al Khawarij] Terrorists once again confirm the nexus of Afghan Taliban regime and multiple terrorist organizations operating from within their territory,” Tarar continued. “All such attempts are responded to, immediately and effectively with severe retributive punishment that is swift, precise and effective.”
“The imaginary numbers being floated by Afghan Taliban regime are however not worth any serious comment,” he added.
Tarar said Pakistan’s military campaign — described as Operation Ghazb Lil Haq — had inflicted heavy losses on Afghan Taliban forces.
According to figures shared by the minister, 527 Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 755 injured since the clashes began, while 237 check posts were destroyed and 38 captured and destroyed. He said 205 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were destroyed and 62 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted by air strikes.
Arab News could not independently verify the claims made by either side.
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
Earlier this week, the United Nations raised concern over the toll of the escalating conflict on civilians.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that 56 Afghan civilians — nearly half of them children — had been killed since hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified.
However, Tarar questioned the UN findings, saying its assertions appeared to rely heavily on information provided by Taliban authorities and did not adequately reflect independently verified intelligence.
“Pakistan categorically reiterates that all counter-terrorism operations conducted by its security forces are carried out with the highest degree of precision, professionalism, and responsibility,” he said.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban government of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan soil, a charge Kabul denies.
“Operations are meticulously planned so that civilian areas remain completely safe,” the minister said. “The locations targeted are remote terrorist hideouts and facilities far removed from populated zones, including sensitive areas such as Kabul’s Green Zone.”
AFGHAN WARNING
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob issued a warning to Pakistan in remarks circulated by Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews.
“If Kabul lacks peace, there will be no peace in Islamabad. If Kabul is attacked, Islamabad will be attacked,” Yaqoob said in a promotional clip of an interview shared on social media.
Yaqoob rejected Pakistan’s justification that the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan warranted military action and suggested the underlying dispute was over the contested “Durand Line” border between the two countries.
So far, there has been no official response from Pakistan to Yaqoob’s remarks.
