Court rejects bail pleas of Zahir Jaffer's parents

Judge announces reserved ruling; says suspect's father helped him, deliberately concealed important information

ISLAMABAD:

An additional sessions court rejected the bail plea of Zahir Jaffer's, the accused of Noor Mukadam’s horrific murder, parents on Thursday.

Islamabad Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Sohail’s reserved judgment on the bail application of the parents from a day ago was announced today. The court rejected their bail pleas after hearing the arguments of both the parties.

In a five-page written judgment, the judge observed that there was no material on record that suggested animosity between the plaintiff and accused.

The defendants assisted the suspect in a serious crime and subsequently did not deserve the extraordinary relief of bail, he added.

The court statement highlighted that Zakir Jaffer had helped his son deliberately conceal facts.

Not informing relevant law enforcement agencies in time facilitated Zahir’s actions and that an attempt was made to hide the evidence, the court stated.

According to the judgment, Zakir Jaffer was in constant touch with his son during the murder. The call record between the accused and his father proved the latter was also involved in the crime.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, counsel for Zakir Jaffer stated that his client condemned the killing since day one and stood with the victim.

The public prosecutor took a stand against the bail application claiming that Zahir was talking to his parents at the time of the incident, but they did not inform the police. They had attempted to save their son, which was indicative of dishonesty.

Read: Unidentified men deface Noor Mukadam’s poster in Sialkot and Twitter is in tears

When an employee called them during the incident, they sent therapy workers instead of the police, the prosecutor alleged.

A pistol in the name of Zakir Jaffar was also recovered from the spot.

“Call, CDR, DVR CCTV footage is available. In line with the evidence, his bail application should be rejected”, the prosecutor said.

Plaintiff Shaukat Mukadam's lawyer Shah Khawar also opposed the bail and said that Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee’s actions were similar to that of the accused, which is proof enough.

Zakir Jaffer and his wife Asmat Adamjee are currently lodged in Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

Zahir Jaffer, accused of murdering and beheading 27-year-old Noor on June 20, is reported to have since confessed to his crimes. However, sources claim that he has repeatedly changed his reasoning for committing the crime.

The brutal case of Noor Mukadam sparked nationwide outrage with thousands of people calling on the authorities to take the case to its logical end. The post-mortem report indicated that the victim had succumbed to her injuries before being beheaded.