Twitter is furious Zahir Jaffer received preferential treatment in jail

On Thursday, Punjab’s Jail Minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan told Arab News he had ordered prison authorities to stop giving preferential treatment to Zahir Jaffer with “immediate effect,” provided that he has been accused of the grisly murder of Noor Mukadam

Chohan’s statement comes a day after Jaffer was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after complaints of a headache, the outlet confirmed based on information received from two doctors at the institution. Chohan said that Jaffer was being kept in solitary confinement in a high-security cell in Adiala Jail, where he was reportedly being granted home cooked food daily, as well as visits.

The fact that he always appeared before the district magistrate bathed and in a fresh set of clothes also led to a public outcry over social media, as many condemned the special privileges for the wealthy US national.

Actor Anoushey Ashraf reminded the authorities of their actual responsibility – serving justice to the victim. Sharing an artwork featuring Noor, Anoushey took to the micro-blogging site and wrote, “Every time #ZahirJaffer asks for hospitals, bail and nice ironed shirts to wear to his trials, I hope the people deciding his fate remember, see and shudder when they think of this [Noor Mukadam’s] angelic face. I hope they can’t sleep knowing she’s waiting on them to deliver justice.”

Even Fatima Bhutto tweeted, “Innocent men and women who are poor, languish behind bars with no protections, no legal help, no hope. But rich men, who murder, abuse, rob and steal, get whatever they want, no matter what they've done. Zahir Jaffer's privilege exposed like this stains all pretenses of law and justice.”

In another thread she added, “Let it sink in that until now Zahir was meeting his father in jail and getting food sent from home.”

An additional sessions court rejected the bail plea of Zahir's 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.

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