ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday granted bail to the mother of Zahir Jaffer, prime accused in the brutal murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, while disposing off the father’s bail plea.
A three-judge bench led by Umar Ata Bandial approved the bail against a surety bond of Rs1 million while hearing a plea filed by Adamjee seeking her release. The court, however, rejected the bail plea of Zakir Jaffer — Zahir’s father.
During the hearing, the top court observed that the two accused, Asmat Adamjee and Zakir Jaffer, should be given the right to fair trial. While approving her bail request, the SC remarked that the role of Zahir’s mother in the case was “secondary”.
Justice Umar said that apparently there was no evidence of Asmat’s involvement in the crime. The judge also asked the authorities to determine why Therapyworks employees were called to the scene of the murder instead of police.
Meanwhile, the court turned down the petitioner’s request to strike down the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order in which it had rejected the bail pleas of Zahir’s parents. “We will not interfere in the high court’s orders,” the apex court said.
During the proceedings, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked whether a test to determine the mental health of the prime suspect had been conducted. The counsel for Noor’s family, Advocate Shah Khawar, responded that Zahir had only been tested for drugs.
On Oct 6, Zahir’s parents had filed separate petitions for bail in the apex court — nearly a week after the IHC had rejected their bail pleas and ordered authorities to keep them in detention until the completion of the trial.
Last week, the trial court had indicted 12 suspects in the Noor Mukadam murder case, including Zahir and his parents. A day before the indictment, Zahir’s parents had also approached the IHC seeking annulment of the sessions court’s order to indict 12 suspects in the case.
