Counsel urges court to refer to FIR

Zakir Jaffer, Asmat Adamjee’s names not mentioned in it

ISLAMABAD:

The counsel for Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, parents of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukadam murder case, said on Wednesday that the court should see what the charge is against them according to the first information report (FIR).

He maintained that the report was registered at 11:30 pm on July 20 while it mentions that the incident occurred at 10 pm. He added that there is no mention of Zahir Jaffer's parents in the FIR.

The lawyer Khawaja Haris said that his clients were in Karachi while Zahir Jaffer was in Islamabad, asking why the prime suspect’s parents have been named in the case.

Zakir and Asmat were granted pre-arrest bail in the murder case, but they were arrested on July 4 after they failed to submit their bail bonds. They were sent to jail on judicial remand on July 27 while their pleas for post-arrest bail were dismissed on August 5.

The lawyer told the court that the names of Zakir and his wife Asmat were included in the case on the basis of their son’s statement recorded in police custody. He said that Zakir and Asmat were made suspects as Zahir had made two calls to them on July 20.

Read Zahir’s father complicit in murder: police

Charges of hiding evidence, criminal facilitation, and other charges against them were included in the case later, he added.

During the interrogation, the plaintiff Shaukat Mukadam recorded a supplementary statement. According to the police, the suspect stated that Noor refused to marry Zahir, owing to which he murdered her and when Zahir’s father was informed about the killing, he asked him not to worry.

Justice Aamer Farooq stated that in England, it is standard practice that the suspect’s statement is recorded during interrogation. He maintained that the video highlights the suspect's expressions while answering the questions. Contrarily, the statement is recorded in another language and is later translated into English in Pakistan, he added.

Haris said that there was a tragic incident at Minar-e-Pakistan in which 12-15 people were involved. However, the police arrested 150 people, including those who were visible in the video.

He said that such conduct would stop him from going out because if something happens and he is visible in the video, he will be booked.

The court adjourned a further hearing of the case till Thursday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2021.