Daily Times

The parents of Zahir Jaffer, the suspect in the murder of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam’s daughter, Noor Mukadam, have been arrested, police said, while the court has approved a two-day physical remand for both.

Meanwhile, orders have been issued to seal Therapy Works, the drug rehabilitation centre where Jaffer is believed to have sought treatment.

In a tweet, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Muhammed Hamza Shafqat confirmed the development and wrote: “Sealing orders of Therapy works issued. Parents of Murderer Zahir Jaffar also arrested.”

The parents of the suspect have been arrested on charges of concealing the crime, the police said, adding that two employees working for Therapy Works have also been taken into custody.

According to police, Noor was murdered in the federal capital on Tuesday, in the city’s F-7 area.

The gruesome incident has sparked a nationwide campaign seeking justice for her.

Jaffer’s parents and two employees working for Therapy Works were presented before the court after the arrest, with the court approving a two-day physical remand for them.

The investigating officer informed the court that the suspect had called his parents to tell them that Noor had refused to marry him. At his residence, Noor “tried jumping through a window but he dragged her inside after which he tortured and killed her,” the officer said.

The investigating officer added that the family’s watchman and butler witnessed the incident but did not call the police. “Police reached the site after a neighbour had informed them,” he said.

JAFFER’S FATHER WANTS JUSTICE TO PREVAIL:

Speaking to a private news channel after the verdict, Zakir Jaffer, the father of the accused condemned the incident and said: “I would like justice to prevail in this case. My sympathies are with the parents of the girl.

Jaffer said as he knew Mukadam- the woman’s father-personally and socially, he extends his condolences to him.

The lawyer for the parents of the suspect said “neither were the parents involved in the matter nor will they put up a defence”.

Advocate Rizwan Abbas told a private news channel that the parents of the suspect stand with the Mukadam family and they want justice in the case.

Abbas said Jaffer’s father and mother were not “accomplices in any of their son’s crimes”.

On Saturday, police presented Jaffer in the court of Duty Magistrate Sohaib Bilal Ranjha after the completion of a three-day physical remand. Jaffer was arrested after Noor’s father lodged a case against him at the Kohsar police station.

According to the police, Jaffer was arrested from the site of the murder and the murder weapon-a knife – was recovered. A pistol and an iron machete found at the accused’s residence had also been seized, police said. The accused’s mobile phone was also confiscated.

As per sources, the suspect had planned the crime and had taken some of his friends into confidence regarding the plan a few days before the incident.

A source also told the police that Jaffer was a little concerned about being arrested while he was planning the murder. However, he was confident he will be spared as he holds American citizenship.

After the murder, the suspect tried fleeing to the United States but was arrested.

It should be noted that Jaffer had previously been deported from the United Kingdom on charges of assaulting a female.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan asked the Inspector General of Police for Islamabad Qazi Jameel-ur-Rehman “not to make any concessions” while probing the murder of Noor.

This was shared by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill.

Gill said that the prime minister is “personally monitoring” the case and has asked the IGP for a report.

The premier’s aide said that as the investigation proceeds and things become clearer, “the facts of the case will be shared with the nation”.

Earlier, Noor’s father, who was Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, addressed a press conference and thanked the prime minister for taking a personal interest in the case.

“This is not a case where the suspect escaped. He was caught and that too with a weapon,” Mukadam said.

He said that Jaffer is “not a person with a mental disability”.

“If such a person was employed as the director of a company, then his parents, too, must be made part of the investigation,” Mukadam had demanded.

SUSPECT’S NAME TO BE ADDED TO ECL:

Meanwhile, the IGP, following a meeting with the investigation team at the Central Police Office, directed it to approach the concerned agencies to add the name of the suspect to the Exit Control List (ECL).

The police chief also directed the team to obtain his criminal history, if any, from the UK and the US.

Briefing the IGP Islamabad about the progress of the case, the head of the investigation team, SSP Investigation Ata-ur-Rehman, said that the statements of the victim’s parents, and the suspect’s father, besides two security guards, have been recorded.

A forensic team has also provided evidence after their investigation, the police chief was told.