Tag: court

  • Premeditated murder: Zahir asked friends if he would go to jail for killing parents

    Reporter Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai while speaking with Geo Pakistan , a program on GEO News has revealed that Zahir Jaffer asked his friends if would he go to jail if he kills his parents, days before he allegedly killed Noor Mukadam.

    Yousafzai, while talking about the case, said that that police has not gotten forensic evidence results yet, adding that the cause of Noor’s murder, whether it was the torture, stabbing, or beheading will be determined after forensic lab reports.

    He added that Zahir had already planned the murder and he even asked his friends if he could get away with murdering someone, considering he was an American citizen. The reporter also stated that Zahir asked his friend if he would face any legal consequences if he murders his parents.

    Yousafzai further added that mutual friends of Zahir and Noor came to Zahir’s place to inquire about the whereabouts of Noor. They left after Zahir told them that Noor was not with him.

    READ MORE: ‘I am disgusted and horrified’: Hollywood’s Jameela Jamil gets emotional about the Noor Mukadam case

    Talking about the negligence of the guard who saw Noor jumping from the balcony and could have helped her, Yousafzai said that the guard should have called the police instead of Zahir’s parents.

    RELATED: US embassy representatives reportedly meet dual national Zahir Jaffer

    Last night, ARY News reported that Zahir Jaffer has confessed to the murder of Noor Mukadam. Police have also gathered video evidence, reportedly of Noor being tortured by Zahir.

    ARY sources have said that Zahir confessed to the police but has not given a reason for murdering her.

    Zahir Jaffer’s phone has now been recovered by the police and has been sent for forensic testing.

  • Court temporarily restricts Careem from calling its drivers ‘captains’

    Court temporarily restricts Careem from calling its drivers ‘captains’

    A civil court in Rawalpindi has restricted Careem, a private ride-hailing service, from calling its drivers ‘Captains’ after an airline pilot filed a petition against it, reports Dawn.

    Labeeb Ahmed, a pilot by profession who filed the complaint, says he has faced “humiliation and disgrace” over sharing his job title with the ride-hailing company’s staff.

    Furthermore, he stated that due to this, he felt intimidated and argued that the title of captain should either be reserved for a pilot or an officer of the armed forces.

    In his defence, he added that due to this use of the term “captain” for Careem drivers, he has to bear the jokes as people often confuse his job title with Careem captains. This has shattered his confidence very much.

    Civil Judge Rawalpindi Rao Ejaz Ahmed Awan restricted Careem for not using this word until the next hearing and ordered the company to submit its response by July 31.

  • ‘Salt Bae’ accused of stealing artwork featuring himself

    Nusret Gökçe, popularly known as Salt Bae, is being sued for $5 million by a Brooklyn-based artist William Hicks, who claims the social media star has used his artwork without permission all over the world, the New York Post has reported.

    According to details, Brooklyn-based artist William Hicks filed a lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 12, suing the renowned Turkish butcher, chef, and restaurateur for $5 million in damages after Gökçe reportedly printed his art on menus, takeout bags, and signs at international Nusr-Et Steakhouse locations in Turkey, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates without permission. Hicks claimed that Gökçe never sought a license to use the artwork and has yet to compensate him for use of the copyright.

    “Defendants also unilaterally decided that they would instead unlawfully adapt, create, and distribute unauthorized derivative versions of the original works … to display in Nusr-et steakhouse locations in at least Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Etiler, Mykonos, and Bodrum Yalikavak Marina,” read the court documents.

    Hicks allegedly sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that they stop using the original artworks in April 2020, but Gökçe and the companies “doubled down on their already widespread infringement, expanding their willful use of the Infringing Materials to locations in Doha, D Maris Bay (Turkey), Boston, Dallas and several additional locations in Istanbul.”

    Earlier, in 2019 the famous chef came into news for underpaying those working in his restaurants.

  • Mufti Abdul Qavi taken to court for advising transgender persons to get married

    Mufti Abdul Qavi taken to court for advising transgender persons to get married

    A seemingly hardliner lawyer has taken to court controversial cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi for advising transgender persons to get married.

    In his petition, the lawyer has termed the cleric’s statement purely “unnatural”, adding that “such sinful acts would trigger vulgarity in the society”.

    In a recent interview, Qavi had advised transgender persons to get married. In an ambiguous statement, he had said that members of the transgender community “can tie the knot like anyone else if they claimed to have either male or female abilities”.

    Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth.

    Reacting to legal action against him, Qavi has maintained that whatever he has said “is also mentioned in the Holy Quran” and if he has said something wrong he is ready to apologise.

    He said that a case could not be registered against him over the said statement.

  • Saudi court fines woman 50,000 riyals for advising friend to leave husband

    Saudi court fines woman 50,000 riyals for advising friend to leave husband

     A woman in Saudi Arabia has been fined 50,000 Saudi Riyals for miscounseling her friend and advising her to leave her husband and find a better one.

    According to details, the husband will get the money while the woman has promised that she will not advise any married woman, regardless of her intentions, according to court records. Lawyers have described the court ruling as a unique judicial precedent.

    The defendant’s friend’s husband filed a case against the woman for trying to destroy his marriage and wanted compensation for the stress he suffered because of this.

    He stated in his complaint that the defendant badly counselled his wife and urged her not to listen to him, saying: “My wife’s friend incited my disobedience, by giving her advice that harmed our marital relationship.”

    “She used to tell my wife ‘You should find someone better for yourself. Show him who’s the boss. Don’t let them push you around’,” he added.

    On the other hand, the defendant said she wanted nothing but the best for her friend.

    The court advised the partners to determine what advice they should take seriously and what to ignore, because “friends may ruin a relationship by giving bad advice out of jealousy”.

  • Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    An elderly man was killed during the hearing of a blasphemy case against him at the Peshawar Judicial Complex on Wednesday.

    A case had been registered against the deceased under blasphemy laws. The accused was brought to court from Peshawar Central Jail.

    Tahir Ahmed Naseem, 47, a resident of Pishtakhara, appeared before the court of Judge Shaukatullah when a man barged in and opened fire on him.

    He was a US citizen and the US State Department’s Twitter account for South Asia tweeted about the incident.

    “During the hearing of the case, the complainant said that the accused was an Ahmadi and asked him to recite the Kalima-e-Tayyaba,” according to a lawyer who was present in the courtroom at the time of the incident. He added that the complainant then fired at the elderly man and killed him.

    The 24-year-old shooter, Khalid, was arrested by the police on the spot. He is said to be a resident of Board Bazaar.

    The judicial complex is situated in a high-security zone on the main Khyber Road in the cantonment area where the provincial assembly building, the Peshawar High Court, chief minister’s secretariat and Governor House are also situated. Security at the main gate and inside the judicial complex is also high.

    Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur and SSP (Operations) Mansoor Aman visited the courtroom where the man was killed.

    “At the moment we have little information but we have started investigation into the killing,” the CCPO said. Aman added that the weapon has also been recovered.

    Police shifted the body of the deceased to the Khyber Medical University for post-mortem.

    They said a first information report (FIR) had been registered against the deceased in 2018.

    According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that the deceased belong to the Ahmadi community and “befriended him on Facebook” and in subsequent conversations, claimed that he was the “fourteenth Mujaddid”.

    “He then invited me to have a discussion with him at a mall in the city where he started talking about his belief,” the complainant said in the FIR, going on to make more allegations.

    The deceased was charged under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Section 295-B (defiling etc. of the Holy Quran), Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and Section 298 (uttering words etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

  • Teacher, student suspended from college over TikTok video get married

    Teacher, student suspended from college over TikTok video get married

    A teacher and his young student expelled from a college for allegedly posting an indecent video clip of themselves on TikTok have contracted court marriage, earlier this week.

    According to reports, Rafaqat Hussain, a 38-year-old English teacher at the Government Postgraduate College Haripur and his 24-year-old student Zainab Ali tied the knot at a local court in Abbottabad. Zainab’s mother and Rafaqat’s cousins and friends were present in the courtroom.

    Speaking about the marriage, the groom expressed that he was very happy adding, “We were in a relationship and were waiting for our families’ permission to get married.”

    Rafaqat is already married and has three children with his first wife.

    According to the couple, the 20-second clip that shows Rafaqat and Zainab together at a local fish-point was shared on the popular video-sharing social networking application TikTok by someone with ill-intent.

    “Today, it has been established that we were in a serious relationship,” said the professor.

    Rafaqat said the clip wasn’t meant to be shared on TikTok, but someone hacked into Zainab’s cellphone, stole the clip and shared it on social networking platforms. The college suspended Rafaqat and Zainab after the clip went viral for violating the college discipline, Principal Dr Muhammad Ishfaq said.

  • Actor Mohsin Abbas Haider refuses to pay child support after public divorce

    Actor Mohsin Abbas Haider refuses to pay child support after public divorce

    Singer and actor Mohsin Abbas Haider, who went through a very public divorce from his former wife, anchor Fatema Sohail, has refused to provide childcare for his son.

    Fatema has filed a petition in a family court, asking that Mohsin pay for child support for his son.

    Mohsin has refused to do so, saying that, “I was previously paying for the expenses of Fatema and my son,” he said. “But I can’t pay for them anymore because I don’t have a job or money,” and that he was going through a “financial crunch”.

    WATCH: Mohsin’s controversial comments about his wife during their separation

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SELMnyk0vbQ&feature=emb_logo
    The couple went through a public separation and divoce in July last year

    The hearing has been adjourned till next week.

    Mohsin was a co-host of Dunya TV’s Mazakaraat and was fired after his wife accused him of beating her up and cheating on her. She filed a case against him, saying he was threatening to kill her and had stolen money from her family. Both Mohsin and Fatema swore on The Holy Quran, stirring a debate on whether anyone should use The Holy Book to prove their point.

    READ MORE: Mohsin Abbas Haider expresses joy after his wife files for divorce

    In August last year a lower court in Lahore found Mohsin guilty of threatening his former wife.

  • ‘No lenient view permitted’: BZU teacher sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’

    ‘No lenient view permitted’: BZU teacher sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’

    A former university lecturer in Multan, who was booked on blasphemy charges and arrested by police on March 13, 2013, was on Saturday sentenced to death by a district and sessions court, Dawn reported.

    Formerly a visiting lecturer at the Department of English Literature of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, Junaid Hafeez, according to Amnesty International, was charged with blasphemy over Facebook uploads.

    He was also in the process of getting a graduate degree in English Literature when he had been accused of blasphemy and arrested. The trial of the case had started in 2014.

    On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Kashif Qayyum sentenced Hafeez to death and imposed a Rs0.5 million fine under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC); in case of default he will undergo further imprisonment of six months.

    He was also sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 295-B, and 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 under Section 295-A of the PPC.

    According to the court’s short judgement, “All the sentences shall run consecutively and the accused would not be entitled to the benefit of Section 382-B CrPC because in case of blasphemer, this court has got no circumstance for taking [a] lenient view and it is also not permitted in Islam.”

    Under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code, the period of detention of a prisoner has to be considered in the prison term when a person is convicted by a trial court.

    Hafeez has been lodged in the high-security ward number 2 of New Central Jail Multan.

    His previous lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was shot dead in May 2014 in his office.

    Hafeez’s parents had earlier this year appealed to former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa to look into their son’s case. They sought justice for their son, fearing for his mental and physical health.

    They had said their son had been languishing in solitary confinement in a cell of the Central Jail, Multan, for the last six years on the false charge of blasphemy.

    “Due to transfer of many judges, delaying tactics of prosecution witnesses, and difficulties finding adequate legal counsel for the defence because of the sensitive nature of the case, our son continues to await justice in a fabricated case,” Junaid’s parents had said in a written appeal to the chief justice.

    Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

    Rights groups have said the blasphemy laws are routinely abused to seek vengeance and settle personal scores.

  • I only watch wrestling on TV: judge who wants Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk

    I only watch wrestling on TV: judge who wants Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk

    Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Waqar Ahmed Seth, who on Thursday made headlines for his damning remarks in Gen (r) Pervez Mushrraf’s treason case judgement, has said that the only thing he watches on TV is wrestling.

    The PHC CJ, who was a part of the three-judge special court trying the former military ruler for treason, had a day earlier drawn ire of people on both mainstream and social media for proposing Musharraf’s public hanging.

    Both the government and the army had expressed “anger” over a specific paragraph 66 of the detailed judgement and termed it “unlawful”, “inhuman” and “unconstitutional”.

    Para 66 of the verdict read: “We direct the law enforcement agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict [Pervez Musharraf] and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk [in front of the Parliament House], Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days.”

    With the government deciding to move the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and file an appeal against the verdict during a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) strategic committee, chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after his telephonic conversation with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, a lawyer, Advocate Moazzam Butt, on Friday praised Justice Seth for staying calm despite all the backlash.

    “It’s impressive how calm you are,” the lawyer said to Justice Seth as the latter heard a case at the PHC, Express News reported.

    Responding to the lawyer’s praise, the judge said that nothing had happened until he left home earlier in the day. “I don’t watch TV… I only watch wrestling,” he was quoted as saying.