Court to announce verdict on Noor Mukadam case today

By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD: A session court on Tuesday reserved verdict in the murder case of Noor Mukadam which involves Zahir Jaffer, who is allegedly involved in the entire horrific episode.
The session court headed by judge Ata Rabbani while reserving the verdict said that the bench would announce the verdict in the murder case on February 24. Previously, the lawyer of the Therapy Works staffer and five other suspects has completed the final arguments in the Noor Mukadam murder case and pleaded with the court to acquit the five accused.
During the hearing, the judge questioned the lawyer about the names of his clients. He replied that he was representing Dilip Kumar, Wamiq Riaz, Samar Abbas, Abdul Haq and Amjad Mahmood.
Zahir Jaffer, the prime accused in Noor Mukadam murder case, had denied committing the crime and said during a hearing that he lost consciousness and found Noor dead when he woke up. Zahir pleaded not guilty to the killing, saying he was innocent and the family of Noor Mukadam was trying to frame him to get money out of his “rich family”. In a written statement submitted to the court, Jaffer levelled a series of allegations against Noor and her father Shaukat Mukadam.
“Noor’s family was trying to frame him to get money out of his rich family,” the prime accused claimed in his written statement. He added that Noor Mukadam had forcedly arranged a drug party and invited her friends. It is pertinent to mention here that the grisly murder, in which Noor Mukadam was beheaded, took place on July 20 in Islamabad’s F-7 area. Noor is the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, who served as Pakistan’s ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan. The Islamabad police arrested suspect Zahir Zakir Jaffer on the night of July 20 from his house where, according to Noor’s parents, he killed her with a sharp instrument and severed her head.