ISLAMABAD: Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukadam murder case, was ousted from a sessions courtroom in the federal capital on Wednesday again after he disrupted the cross-examinations of witnesses during the hearing.
Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani was hearing the case while all accused in the case were produced before the court.
During the hearing, Zahir started shouting when the cross-examination of Muhammad Imran, in-charge of the National Forensic Crime Agency, was being conducted.
He asked the judge to order a settlement between him and family of the victim. “Are you listening to me?” he asked the judge.
The judge, then, ordered the police to remove Jaffer from the courtroom along with his father Zakir Jaffer and three household staff, who are also indicted in the case. The four were later brought back to the court room while the prime suspect was kept in holding cell.
Last week, the sessions court issued a warning to Zahir Jaffer, stating that his appearance in the court would be restricted if he did not correct his behaviour.
A media outlet cited the court order as, “Zahir Zakir created fuss in the court and tried to interfere in the proceedings. He is directed to mend his attitude otherwise his attendance will be exempted from the court and he will be taken on video link from jail.”
The court said that police had also submitted a report regarding the misbehavior meted out by Zahir to cops during the hearing on November 3.
On Nov 4, police registered a case against Zahir Jaffer for assaulting police officials inside court premises. The suspect was produced before a judicial magistrate, who has sent him on judicial remarks in the case.
The case was registered against Zahir Jaffer at the Margalla police station of Islamabad on the complaint of Inspector Ghulam Mustafa. The FIR said that Zahir attacked a police officer in court.
A day earler, Zahir Jaffer was expelled from the courtroom after he tried to disrupt the proceedings by hurling abuses at the judge.
Video footage of the incident showed policemen taking Zahir out of the courtroom forcefully. After the accused kept on resisting, four policemen carried Zahir out and took him back to the lockup.
Judge Rabbani said he would not issue a contempt notice to the suspect but would start conducting the hearing of the case in the jail.
On Oct 14, the court indicted twelve suspects, including Zahir Jaffer, the prime accused, in the Noor Mukadam murder case.
During the hearing, Zahir Jaffer apologised to Noor’s father Shaukat Mukadam, a former Pakistani diplomat.
The murder case came into light when Zahir was arrested from his house in F-7/4 on July 20, 2021 where he beheaded Noor Mukadam, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Ali Mukadam, after he held her hostage over the breakup.
On July 24, Police arrested Zahir’s parents and their servants over allegations of hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime.
