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Published 07 Feb, 2022 06:14pm

Court dismisses Zahir Jaffer's appeals in Noor murder case

An Islamabad Judge and Session Court on Monday dismissed three appeals submitted by a lawyer representing Zahir Jaffer, the main accused in Noor Mukadam murder case.

Additional Session Judge Atta Rabbani announced the decision which he had saved after listening to arguments from petitioner lawyer Nisar Asghar, state counsel Shehryar Nawaz Khan, who was presenting Zahir, and public prosecutor Hassan Abbas.

Sikandar Zulqarnain Saleem, Zahir's lawyer, who had submitted the written pleas in the court was absent in Monday's hearing.

One of the pleas submitted by Saleem had requested the court to summon ownership of a mobile number along with its record and date of issuance of the SIM. The mobile number which was time and again quoted as the number of Noor's mother and complainant Shaukat Mukadam’s wife, Kausar, actually belonged to a person named Tasneem Jasnak, read the plea.

In his arguments, Asghar confirmed that Kausar Mukadam was using the mobile number and at this stage these appeals were not maintainable as their only purpose was to prolong the case.

Khan, the defendant's lawyer, urged the court to bring the mobile number record as the SIM was registered against some other person.

In the second plea, Zahir’s lawyer requested the court to direct Islamabad Inspector General Police Muhammad Ahsan Younas and other officials to “perform their duty and let the court proceed with the case in a legal manner”.

This application was submitted in reference to a document issued by the Islamabad police officials on its official Twitter account on January 25, saying a detailed report of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency contained comprehensive evidence that was sufficient for the conviction of the accused in Noor's murder case.

Presenting arguments on the second plea, Prosecutor Abbas noted that neither Islamabad IG held any press conference whose reference was given in the application nor he intruded in court proceedings.

The Islamabad IG only issued an explanatory tweet, said the public prosecutor, urging the court to dismiss this plea.

In his arguments, the state counsel said that the document issued by the Islamabad police did not have any signature.

At this Judge Rabbani said the explanation was issued on the "wrong reporting" of media and not on the court proceedings.

Zahir's lawyer, then asked whether the IG had authorities to issue explanation on "wrong media reporting".

The third plea submitted in the court maintained that the IO presented a "managed and untrue" site plan of the place before the court where the murder occurred.

The defendant’s lawyer requested the court to exercise Section 539-B of Criminal Procedure of Code which empowers him to “personally visit” the place where the crime occurred and prepare a memorandum in this regard and made the same a part of judicial file of the case “to ascertain true facts of the case”.

In his arguments, the petitioner lawyer noted the site plan prepared on July 24, 2021 for mobile recovery had reference of green area, while a July 27, 2021's report mentioned the green area as well.

However, the defendant's lawyer argued that the site plan showed the back area of the house as a residential unit, while it was a green area. He urged the judge to exercise his powers and inspect the crime scene.

After hearing the arguments, Judge Rabbani saved the decision which he announced later, dismissing all the three petitions. The court adjourned hearing of the case till February 9.

Noor Mukadam, the 27-year-old victim, was brutally murdered in Jaffer's home in Islamabad on July 20, 2021. Zahir, his parents, their household staff and six members of Therapy Works, a counselling and psychotherapy centre, have been indicted in the case on October 14, 2021.

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