A protest took place today outside the Islamabad Press Club to seek justice for Noor Mukadam. The protest was co-hosted by Noor’s sister Sara Mukadam. Noor’s father Shaukat Ali Mukadam addressed the gathering at the protest and appealed to the authorities to award exemplary punishment to the the prime suspect of his daughte’s murderer, Zahir Jaffer.
“I want all daughters of Pakistan to stay safe. May they never see these days. My mission in life is to get justice for Noor so that Pakistan’s women to feel safe in their homes, their offices and on the streets. May they never go through things like this, nor their parents.”
Noor Mukadam’s sister recited a poem at the protest. “You were my better half, my better version, my soulmate and now I will have to live incomplete without you for the rest of my life,” she said.
People came to the protest to support Noor Mukadam and her family in Islamabad today.
Actor Osman Khalid Butt also came forward to show his support.
Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel shared the artwork of Noor Mukadam, a woman who was murdered by Zahir Jaffer. The case is currently under investigation.
While sharing the picture on her Instagram account, she wrote about Noor’s tragic story. “I’m sharing this story because this is the fate of our women here in my country! Unfortunately where I come from, the majority of men can’t accept the whole concept of a woman living her own life on her own terms! It scares them!”
“I pray for you, Noor! I didn’t know you were a fan of my art and followed me too! I’m sorry this happened to you! I know you are in a very good place right now! We will fight for you till the very end,” she added.
Jaffer and his parents are under custody being investigated.
Sara Shakeel is known for her glittery and Swarovski crystals’ artwork.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has clarified his stance on Noor Mukadam’s murder coverage. Fawad made a comment regarding the social media outrage after the murder of Noor Mukadam, while addressing a press conference along with National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf.
During the press conference, Fawad Chaudhry — while referring to Noor Mukadam’s murder case — said that a campaign was designed through social media to show that Pakistan is an unsafe country for women, adding that Indian channel WION made videos on Noor murder case of hundreds of minutes to portray that Pakistan is not a safe country for women.
Chaudhry received backlash on social media for his comments, after which The Current reached out to him for his comment on the matter. “There is an Indian channel WION, which made 3O videos on how unsafe Pakistan is for women, and see this case [Noor Mukadam murder] has happened in Pakistan. This is how [Indian channels] make the issues bigger and create a [specific] narrative,” said the information minister while speaking exclusively to The Current.
Noor Mukadam was murdered on July 20 in Islamabad. Noor’s murder sparked outrage in the country and many protests and vigils were held in Pakistan and abroad subsequently and the story was covered by all major news outlets in the world including CNN, BBC, The Guardian and The New York Times.
Zahir Jaffer, alleged killer of Noor Mukadam, was taken to Lahore on Friday with heavy security to undergo a polygraph test at the Punjab forensic lab. It has been reported that experts at the lab asked him 20 questions and also conducted forensic analysis of the CCTV footage of the incident.
GEO News has reported that before the test was taken, Zahir kept trying to make excuses and also acted like he had fainted.
Zahir Jaffer’s remand was extended two days ago for another three days by a court in Islamabad. During the hearing, Zahir’s lawyer had said that if a forensic exam of the CCTV footage had to be done, it should be done by taking photos since the weapons and mobile phones had been recovered. There was no need to take Zahir to Lahore, he argued. The prosecution said the suspect has to be taken to Lahore. “If a photo was enough, we would not have asked for [the] remand,” he said.
The public prosecutor also stated that even in the case of Usman Mirza, a man in Islamabad who allegedly assaulted and harassed a couple, they had taken all the suspects to Lahore.
Later, the court granted a three-day extension in the remand. Zahir will now be produced before the court on July 31.
Over the last few days, the news has been inundated with the different versions and revelations in relation to the murder of Noor Mukadam.
Here’s a list of the different versions of the same story.
1.Zahir Jaffer’s confession:
Reportedly, Zahir Jaffer has confessed to the murder of Noor Mukadam. Police also gathered video evidence of Noor being tortured by Zahir.
The accused made the confession during interrogation but has not given a reason for murdering Noor. Dawn, The Express Tribune, ARY News, Dunya have reported that Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the murder of Noor, confessed to killing her before the investigators during his interrogation. Sources said the prime suspect has repeatedly changed his reasoning for committing the brutal crime.
However, Geo News and Samaa have not reported on the confession yet.
2.CCTV footage of the incident:
All news outlets have confirmed that the Islamabad police have also found video evidence of him torturing Noor on his mobile phone, as well as CCTV footage of the incident.
3.Noor seeking driver’s help:
Only two media organisations reported the story of Noor seeking help from her driver while being held as a hostage at Zahir Jaffer’s house.
Noor Mukadam asked her driver to arrange Rs700,000 and bring it to the house of Zahir Jaffer, the main accused in her murder, Noor’s driver told Geo News.
The Express Tribune reported, the victim’s family reportedly informed the investigation team that Noor had instructed her driver to bring Rs700,000 to the accused’s house. However, the investigation team said no money has been recovered yet. A senior police officer added that there was no confirmation of the money being withdrawn from the victim’s account, from her home, or from any other relatives. However, Geo news says that the driver collected three lakh rupees from his own resources, friends, and acquaintances.
No other major news outlet has run this story.
4.Crime Scene:
All major news outlets reported that a guard at the house of Zahir Jaffer saw Noor Mukadam trying to escape as she jumped off the balcony. When she jumped off the balcony, she landed on the Air Conditioner Unit ( Condenser). Zahir too jumped off from the balcony and grabbed her. The guard tried to help her but Zahir grabbed her by her hair and took her back into her room and locked the door.
BBC Urdu reported that Noor jumped out of the ‘Roshandan‘ [a small window].
BBC Urdu, Dawn, and The Express Tribune added that Noor hid in the guard’s room after finding the gate locked, adding that later the accused broke into the room and dragged her back into the house.
Geo News did not report Noor hiding in the guard’s room.
5.Presence of friends:
Editor of The Nation Salman Masood, mentioned that Zahir brutally killed Noor and chopped off her head from the body while the Therapy Works team and a group of mutual friends tried to enter his room.
Dawn reported that the SSP Rehman further said her [Noor’s] friends reached the house of the accused, but he refused to let them enter, adding that he remained on the balcony, brandishing weapons and hurling abuses at them. One of the friends informed the girl’s father while another friend called the police.
However, as per Geo News, a neighbour had gone to the Kohsar Police station to inform them and not a friend. By the time the police reached, the team of Therapy Works had tied up Zahir.
6. When did Noor go to Zahir’s house:
Editor of The Nation Salman Masood and Geo News reported that Noor was detained for two days at Zahir’s house.
Other media outlets have not reported the duration of stay.
7. Reason for murder:
The reason for murder has yet not been confirmed.
However, Geo News reported that Zahir called his parents before the murder and told them that Noor has refused to marry him.
Meanwhile, ARY News reported that allegedly Zahir in his statement said that he killed Noor for cheating on him
Recent update on #JusticeForNoor case:
The parents of Zahir Zakir Jaffer — a key suspect in Noor Mukadam’s murder — on Tuesday moved a bail petition in a district and sessions court in Islamabad against their detention. Admitting the petition, the court issued a notice to the police and set July 30 as the date for the hearing.
The confusion is real. Was Zahir Jaffer taking clients and was a practicing therapist at the organisation Therapy Works? In a social media post, the organisation stated, “He [Zahir Jaffer] did not complete his coursework and International Essays, and accordingly was never ever given permission to see clients. This is borne out by our list of authorised therapists in which his name has never been included.”
On Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Kahnzada Kay Sath’, Journalist Shahzeb Khanzada revealed that Zahir Jaffer was giving therapy sessions to children at Beaconhouse’s Rawalpindi branch.
According to leaked audio of Therapy Works CEO Tahir Ahmed Zahoor, Zahir Jaffer along with Dr Umber Zaidi ( an authorised counsellor of Therapy Works, as listed on their website) had visited Beaconhouse to give a counselling session to students, on how to cope up with the increasing pressure in education. Khanzada shows leaked audio and video of Tahir Ahmed Zahoor saying that he was not responsible for Zahir going to Beaconhouse since Zahir went on his own. Khanzada aired a clarification from Beaconhouse, in which the school states that they had reached out to TherapyWorks for their counsellors to come to the school sessions and Zahir had been sent by the organisation.
نورمقدم کاقاتل ظاہر جعفر اپنی پرتشدد ہسٹری اورمنشیات کی لت کے باوجودکیسے تھیراپی ورکس میں تھیراپسٹ بننے کے لیول4تک پہنچا۔ کیسے تھیراپی دیتارہا۔
تھیراپی ورکس کےCEOکواسکے ماضی کاپتہ تھا توپھر کیوں یہ سب نظرانداز کیا۔ حقائق دیکھیے
It was further revealed that Dr Umber and Zahir were affiliated with the Therapy Works and that they both shared their credentials with the school principal on arrival.
The official Beaconhouse statement reads:
“In Jan 2019, A teacher of Beaconhouse Senior Boys Branch, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi was enrolled in a course at TherapyWorks. She asked her teacher, Dr Umber Zaidi (an authorised counsellor of TherapyWorks as listed on Therpary Works website) to visit the school as a guest speaker and talk to students about coping with study pressures. Dr Umber Zaidi brought Zahir to the school with her. Both shared their TherapyWorks credentials with the school head before the session with Students and Teachers. At no point were the students left unsupervised.
In short, Beaconhouse did not invite Zahir. It was Dr Umber Zaidi’s decision to bring him along. Since she is an authorised counsellor of TherapyWorks, the school did not question her decision. It is pertinent to note that the session took place in Jan 2019″.
During the show, Shahzeb Khanzada exposed other contradictions that CEO Tahir Ahmed had been stating as the truth. Khanzada reported that Tahir knew about Zahir’s mental health and let him become a therapist and take on clients anyway.
In the leaked audio, Tahir Ahmed says that it was only after June 2021 that Zahir’s parents contacted him and asked him to help their son [Zahir].
“He is seriously ill, he will do something,” Tahir Ahmed to Zahir’s parents.
However, Zahir’s father ignored Tahir’s warnings.
Dr Imtiaz Dogar, President Pakistan Psychiatric Society, a guest on the show said, “The murder of Noor Mukadam is not a psychological but a criminal matter.”
نورمقدم کاقتل سائیکولوجیکل نہیں بلکہ کرمنل معاملہ ہے۔ سائیکولوجیکل کیسز میں ایسے منصوبہ بندی کیساتھ قتل کے واقعات سامنے نہیں آتے۔ ڈاکٹرامتیاز ڈوگر، صدر پاکستان سائیکیٹرک سوسائٹی pic.twitter.com/kAfj4DSXUI
Noor Mukadam left her house at 9:15pm on Sunday (July 18) and reached Zahir’s house at 10pm. Noor called her driver Khalil the next morning (Monday, July 19) at 9.50am and asked him to arrange Rs700,000 and bring it to Zahir Jaffer’s house, reports Geo News.
As per Geo News, the driver told Noor that he could not arrange such a large sum of money. Noor told him that it was important that he brings it and asked him to take it from a friend or arrange it from his acquaintances. However, Khalil said that he could only arrange Rs300,000.
“When I called Noor, she said she can’t come out and that I hand over the money to the cook,” her driver told Geo. He then handed the money over to the cook.
As per Express Tribune, a senior police officer said that there was no confirmation of the money being withdrawn from the victim’s account, from her home, or from any other relatives.
The driver also revealed to Geo News that when Noor called him for the first time, she told to inform her parents that she was going to Lahore.
When Khalil went inside the house to inform Noor’s parents, her mother was already talking about the same thing with her husband. Noor’s father was asking why she was going to Lahore when it was Eid the next day, the driver said.
He added that after hearing the conversation between Noor’s parents, he realised they already knew what Noor had asked him to tell them and so he left without saying anything.
According to the investigating sources, Noor was in touch with her mother. Noor also spoke to her mother over the phone the day she was murdered.
When Geo News contacted the police about the driver’s statement and asked about a possible kidnapping and ransom, they replied that the case is under investigation.
ARY News has 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 kept changing the reasons for murdering her.
Reportedly, Noor managed to run away from Zahir after jumping from the balcony and hide inside the security guards room. Zahir chased after her and found her in the room and dragged her out. The guards were present but no one stopped Zahir from taking Noor back to the room where he proceeded to murder and behead her.
“There were more people present who had witnessed Noor Mukadam being dragged by him. Zahir Jaffer had tortured Noor consistently for three hours,” ARY sources have stated to the network.
Zahir Jaffer was taken back into police custody after a court gave them an extension on the physical remand.
Islamabad police had arrested Zahir’s parents and two security guards for assistance in crime, hiding evidence, tampering with evidence in order to save the accused, and complicity, officials said.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed while addressing a press conference said that Noor Mukadam murder accused, Zahir Jaffer’s name has been placed on a provisional no-fly list known as the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).
Zahir Jaffer’s name has been placed on the PNIL and blacklist. His name will also be placed on the ECL: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed
Rasheed also said that Zahir’s name will also be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).
A court in Islamabad extended on Monday the physical remand of Zahir Jaffer, by two days.
Islamabad police, on Saturday night, arrested the parents of alleged killer Zahir Jaffer, Zaqir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee for hiding evidence and abetting the murder. The court gave the police a two-day remand for the parents of Zahir Jaffer and they are to remain in police custody.
While being taken to court in police custody, alleged killer Zahir Jaffer’s father, Zakir Jaffer spoke to the reporters present. He said, “I condemn the murder, it is a heinous crime, I sympathize with the Mukadam family its a very tragic incident and I would personally like to make a request to Mr Mukadam because I know him personally, and my family knew the girl socially as well…it’s a very heinous crime and I would like justice to prevail”.
When the same reporter asked him about how he found about about the incident, Zakir replied, “that is a very long story.”
The mother of Zahir Jaffer, Asmat Adamjee did not speak to the media present and walked with the police with her face fully covered.
Asmat Adamjee being taken to court in police custody
The court gave the police a two-day remand for the parents of Zahir Jaffer and they are to remain in police custody.
