Judge displeased over police clarification in Noor case

Counsel for accused says police statement be made part of court record.

ISLAMABAD:

The trial court judge on Wednesday expressed his displeasure after the counsel for an accused in the Noor Muqqadam case told the court that the Islamabad police have issued an explanatory press release over the court proceedings involving the cross-examination of the investigation officer.

When Additional Sessions Judge Ataa Rabban took up the case for hearing, advocated Asad Jamal, the lawyer for Ismat Adam, the mother of Zahir Jaffer, the main accused in the Noor Muqqadam murder case, raised the question if the prosecution will make the explanation issued by police part of the record.

Upon this, Public Prosecutor Hassan Abbas said that what was happening in media should be left to the media. He said that the Islamabad police inspector-general has not released the explanation. It was a tweet on the Twitter account of the police.

Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani said: "I don't know which explanation was given by the police." I have a nature of my own. I do not analyse things in this way. The matter will be investigated. The court later asked the public prosecutor to inform the police IG that he could not give such an explanation in a pending case.

The accused's lawyer Asad Jamal said it was an attempt to interfere in matters of the judiciary.

Earlier, Islamabad police said clarified in a press release that stories appearing in a section of the media gave the impression that the police were trying to give benefit to the main murder accused. At the previous hearing on Monday, the investigation officer told the trial court that in the forensic report, fingerprints of Zahir Jaffer were not found on the weapon recovered from the crime scene nor did his pants contain bloodstains at the time of his arrest.

During the hearing, the main accused Zahir Jaffer and other accused were produced from Adiala jail. Public Prosecutor Hassan Abbas and plaintiff Shaukat Muqaddam also appeared before the court. The court also declared in-camera proceedings to run CCTV footage in the courtroom.

Lawyer Akram Qureshi and lawyer of Zakir Jaffer's servant completed a cross-examination of the investigating officer.

Ismat Adam's lawyer Asad Jamal will cross-examine the investigation officer on February 2.

During the cross-examination, the accused's lawyer stopped the public prosecutor from speaking and asked him to let the investigating officer speak. Akram Qureshi in a conversation with the public prosecutor said that if you were more interested, then you should come forward. The investigating officer, while answering various questions, said that when he got information about the murder, he was in the Aabpara office and from there he reached Kohsar police station. At that time, the head Moharir told him that no FIR had been registered till then.

The investigating officer replied that according to SOPs, only the homicide unit can investigate murder cases. The investigating officer said that between the night of July 20 and 21, he and Shaukat Muqqadam saw the CCTV footage. The accused Iftikhar, Mohammad Jan and Jamil were not named in the FIR. The plaintiff did not file a petition against the accused Iftikhar, Muhammad Jan and Jamil till July 23, but the petition was filed on July 24, he said.

Read: "‘Zahir Jaffer’s fingerprints not found on murder weapon’"

He said that Noor Muqqadam's mobile was working from July 18 to July 20 at 10 am. According to the records, Noor Muqqadam has been receiving calls and messages and she has been doing so. From July 18 to July 20, Noor Muqqaddam did not report to Madadgar 15 or the police station. According to the CDR, he said, Noor Muqaddam did not send any message to any of her loved ones regarding any kind of threat. No statement of any person was recorded under 164.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2022.