-Court extends remand of prime suspect
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The names of the suspects in the murder of the daughter of a former ambassador will be put on the Exit Control List to keep him from fleeing the country, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Monday.
Noor Mukadam, 27, was found murdered at the residence of one Zahir Zakir in Sector F-7/4 of Islamabad last week. Zakir, widely believed to be the killer, was arrested the same day for his purported involvement in the gruesome incident.
A first information report registered on the complaint of Ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam nominated Zakir under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Rasheed disclosed Zakir’s name has already been placed on the Provisional National Identification List, an ECL-like list used to bypass the lengthy process of putting such people on the no-fly list. The minister further confirmed the parents and domestic helpers of the accused have been arrested.
The names of the suspects in the case will be presented in a cabinet meeting this week for approval of their inclusion in the ECL, he said.
REMAND EXTENDED:
Meanwhile, a district and sessions court in Islamabad granted police another two-day extension in the physical remand of Zakir.
He was produced before the court on the expiration of his latest two-day remand, which was secured after an initial three-day remand.
The defense, Ansar Nawaz Mirza, argued that the police had already had his client remanded for five days, saying a further remand was “unnecessary”.
Zakir, who according to Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Attaur Rehman also holds American nationality, said the US embassy had not approached him as yet.
