Zahir Jaffer’s lawyer has entered a plea in court on his behalf, declaring that his client is not mentally sound, a private TV channel reported.
Jaffer is accused of murdering Noor Mukadam at his residence in Islamabad a couple of months earlier in Islamabad’s F-7 area. The grisly murder sent shockwaves across the country, triggering calls for Jaffer to be punished severely.
Jaffer’s lawyer requested a medical board be formed to conduct a medical check-up of his client. The plea was filed in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani. Shah Khawar, the lawyer representing Noor’s father Shaukat, confirmed that Jaffer’s lawyer had filed an insanity plea for his client.
“Zahir Jaffer shouted various times in the courtroom due to which he was kicked out,” said Khawar, confirming that the lawyer has demanded a medical board be set up to conduct Jaffer’s medical check-up.
“Maybe Zahir Jaffer has been instructed to act like a mental patient,” he said. “[Because] when a court declares a suspect insane, their trial is suspended,” he added. He suspected that the request to form a medical board for Zahir Jaffer was a “planned” act. Noor Mukadam’s murder has received national press coverage due to the shocking and brutal way the victim was killed allegedly by Jaffer earlier this year. Noor’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, served as Pakistan’s ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan. The Islamabad police arrested suspect Zahir Jaffer on the night of July 20 from his house where, according to Noor’s parents, he killed her with a sharp instrument and severed her head.
