ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Monday issued a short order and rejected three separate applications filed by prime suspect Zahir Jaffer in the Noor Mukadam murder case, as the prosecution described his written submissions as delaying tactics.  
Filed by Jaffer’s counsel during the last hearing, the first application demanded action against the Islamabad police chief for issuing a press release about one of the previous court hearings. The second application sought action against the investigation officer for allegedly drawing a flawed map of the crime scene, and the third one wanted to determine the ownership of a mobile phone SIM used by the victim’s mother. 
Mukadam, a former Pakistani diplomat’s daughter, was found beheaded in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood on July 20 last year. Her murder sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. Jaffer, 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 employees of Therapy Works, a counseling 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 Islamabad’s district court, where additional sessions judge Atta Rabbani has been conducting its hearings. Eyewitnesses have recorded their statements in the case and defense attorneys have cross-examined them. 
During Monday’s hearing, advocate Nisar Asghar, a counsel for the plaintiff, Shaukat Mukadam, urged the court to dismiss all three applications filed by Jaffer. 
“Such applications at this stage seem to be a tactic [on part of the accused] to delay the case,” he pleaded to the court. 
The counsel informed the court the mobile number the suspect’s lawyer had pointed out was under the use of the victim’s mother, Kausar Mukadam. 
Regarding the application against the investigation officer Inspector Abdul Sattar, the counsel defended the site plan prepared by the prosecution after the murder, saying the green area and jungle across Jaffer’s house had been fully incorporated in it. 
He said that reports prepared on July 24 and 27 fully contained the green area of the house. 
On the third application against the Islamabad police chief, public prosecutor Hassan Abbas said that police had not addressed any press conference as mentioned in the suspect’s application. 
“The IG [Inspector General of Police] did not try to interfere in the court proceedings,” he said. 
However, he admitted the Islamabad administration had released an explanation on Twitter, adding: “We cannot even think of any interference in the court proceedings.” 
Zahir Jaffer’s state counsel Shaharyar Nawaz urged the court to seek the ownership record of mobile SIM that Shaukat Mukadam claimed was in the name of her wife Kausar. 
“The court should check the record to determine the number’s ownership because as per our information this number is registered in someone else’s name,” he said. 
He also raised questions over the police clarification issued on January 25 on Twitter regarding a court hearing. 
The state counsel argued the basement of the house and jungle side were not mentioned in the site plan of the crime scen and the court should look into it. 
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected all three applications and deferred the hearing till Wednesday.