ISLAMABAD: The parents of Zahir Jaffer, the suspect in the murder of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam’s daughter, Noor Mukadam, have been arrested, police said, while the court has approved a two-day physical remand for both.
Meanwhile, orders to seal Therapy Works, the drug rehabilitation centre where Jaffer is believed to have sought treatment, have also been issued.
Taking to Twitter, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Muhammed Hamza Shafqaat confirmed the news and wrote: “Sealing orders of Therapy works issued. Parents of Murderer Zahir Jaffar also arrested.”
The parents of the suspect have been arrested on charges of concealing the crime, the police said, adding that two employees working for Therapy Works have also been taken into custody.
Noor, 27, was murdered in the federal capital on Tuesday, in the city’s F-7 area, according to police.
The gruesome incident has sparked a nationwide campaign seeking justice for her, with #JusticeforNoor becoming a top trend on Twitter.
Jaffer’s parents and two employees working for Therapy Works were presented before the court after the arrest and the court approved a two-day physical remand for them.
The family’s lawyer Advocate Rizwan Abbasi said a day ago, Jaffer’s parents were granted interim bail by the High Court, but the police still arrested them. He said that an FIR will be registered against the police for ignoring the court’s order.
In response, the investigating officer said that the police did not receive any such bail orders from the court.
The investigating officer informed the court that the suspect had called his parents to tell them that Noor had refused to marry him. At his residence, Noor “tried jumping through a window but he dragged her inside after which he tortured and killed her”, the officer said.
According to the investigating officer, the family’s watchman and butler witnessed the incident but did not call the police. “Police reached the site after a neighbor had informed them,” he said.
“The arrested suspects gave us a written statement but did not say that they were on interim bail,” the investigating officer told the court.
The lawyer for the parents of the suspect said “neither were the parents involved in the matter, nor will they put up a defence”.
Advocate Rizwan Abbas told media the parents of the suspect stand with the Mukadam family and they want justice in the case.
Abbas said Jaffer’s father and mother were not “accomplices in any of their son’s crimes”.
“The parents of the suspect have strongly condemned the murder of Noor and said that whoever is involved in this case should be punished,” the lawyer added.
On Saturday, police presented Jaffer in the court of Duty Magistrate Sohaib Bilal Ranjha after the completion of a three-day physical remand. Jaffer was arrested after Noor’s father lodged a case against him at the Kohsar police station.
According to the police, Jaffer was arrested from the site of the murder and the murder weapon — a knife — was recovered. A pistol and an iron machete found at the accused’s residence had also been seized, police said. The accused’s mobile phone was also confiscated.
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