Murder of Noor Mukadam: Names of Zahir's parents must be added to PNIL, says Mazari

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, on Wednesday, said that the names of the parents of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam, should also be added to the provisional national identification list (PNIL), so that they could not escape from the country.

During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, which met here with Senator Waleed Iqbal in the chair, the minister said that the name of the alleged murderer has already been placed on the PNIL, and the names of his parents who are also American citizens, should also be included in the PNIL.

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The senior superintendent police (SSP) investigation of Islamabad Police Attaur Rehman, who is also heading the committee formed to probe the gruesome murder of 27-year-old Noor, gave a detailed briefing to the parliamentary panel.

Mazari said that the government is committed to bring all the culprits involved in the brutal murder to justice, as the way an innocent woman was killed in the heart of Islamabad is not acceptable.

Such crimes should be coordinated at the provincial level, she said, adding in Khadija Siddiqui's stabbing case, the attacker secured an early release, which should not have happened.

She added that the Shahrukh Jatoi case was also revived with much difficulty. The minister said that she is in touch with Noor Mukadam's family, adding that they are satisfied with the police investigation so far.

Meanwhile, the SSP Investigation informed the committee that the incident took place at around 8pm on July 20 and that Zahir was arrested from the scene of the crime that same night.

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He said that two domestic workers were also arrested, besides Zahir. The parents of the alleged murderer have also been arrested by the police, he added. The SSP said that employees of Therapy Works have been made part of the investigation, as have close friends of the suspect. He said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had also been requested to obtain Zahir's criminal record abroad.

According to the SSP, the alleged murderer's parents and the two domestic workers' physical remand had ended and now they are on judicial remand. Meanwhile, the committee chairman declared that all proceedings of the Human Rights Committee would be held in-camera.

Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect in the murder, is under police custody, with the court granting a three-day extension in his remand earlier today (Wednesday). Zahir will now be produced before the court on July 31.

His parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee are on a 14-day judicial remand and were sent to Adiala Jail on Tuesday by a sessions court. Besides the parents, two domestic workers, a cook and a guard, identified as Iftikhar and Jameel, are on a 14-day judicial remand. Noor, 27, was murdered in the federal capital on July 20, in the city's F-7 area, according to police.

She is the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, who served as Pakistan's ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan. The Islamabad police arrested Zahir 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. The gruesome incident sparked a nationwide campaign seeking justice for her with Justice for Noor becoming a top trend on Twitter for over a week now.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021