Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) set October 6 as the date for indicting prime accused in Noor Mukadam murder case Zahir Jaffer and 11 other accused. Additional sessions judge Islamabad Ata Rabbani on Thursday heard the case wherein six accused, as well as the prime suspect, were produced before the court by the police. The six other accused, who have been granted bail, appeared before the court themselves. They include CEO Therapy Works, Tahir Zahoor, among others.

All the 12 accused were provided the copies of the challan. Subsequently, the court summoned all accused on October 6 for a formal indictment in the case. In a separate hearing, the IHC reserved its decision on the bail plea of accused Zahir’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, after the completion of arguments.

While hearing the bail plea, Justice Amir Farooq inquired about the time of the murder. To this, counsel Shah Khawar replied that as per the CCTV footage, Noor jumped from the first floor of the house at 6:35pm, adding that the murder could have taken place from 7:15pm to 7:30pm. He added that the prime suspect had constantly been in contact with his parents during the incident, proving their association with the crime.

A day earlier, the IHC had granted respite to the lawyers of Therapy Works’ employees for preparation in the Noor Mukadam murder case, while hearing a petition seeking the suspension of bail to the employees of Therapy Works. Justice Aamer Farooq had heard the plea of Tahir Zahoor and five other suspects for bail suspension on Wednesday.

The court granted respite to the lawyers after hearing their plea, asking for more time to prepare a case. Meanwhile, an additional sessions judge approved the bail of six suspects after submission of surety bonds worth Rs500,000. The plaintiff had already appealed to the Islamabad High Court to cancel the bail of the suspects.

Noor, 27, was found murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20.A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir, who was arrested from the site of the murder, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s father, Shaukat Ali Mukadam.Zahir’s parents and household staff were also arrested on July 24 over allegations of “hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime”. They were made a part of the investigation based on Shaukat’s statement, according to a police spokesperson.In his complaint, Shaukat had stated that he had gone to Rawalpindi on July 19 to buy a goat for Eidul Azha, while his wife had gone out to pick up clothes from her tailor. When he had returned home in the evening, the couple found their daughter Noor absent from their house in Islamabad.They had found her cellphone number switched off, and started a search for her. Sometime later, Noor had called her parents to inform them that she was travelling to Lahore with some friends and would return in a day or two, according to the FIR.The complainant said he had later received a call from the suspect, whose family were the ex-diplomat’s acquaintances. The suspect had informed Shaukat that Noor was not with him, the FIR said.At around 10pm on July 20, the victim’s father had received a call from Kohsar police station, informing him that Noor had been murdered.