Noor Mukadam case: Punjab forensic lab conducts polygraph test of suspect Zahir Jaffer
July 30, 2021
- Sources says experts at the forensic lab asked 20 questions from Zahir Jaffer.
- CCTV footage of the incident was also reviewed by the experts.
- Sources says Zahir Jaffer was "behaving abnormally" during the test.
LAHORE: The Punjab forensic lab on Friday conducted the polygraph test of Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect in the Noor Mukadam murder case, sources told Geo News.
The sources said that the experts at the lab asked 20 questions from the suspect. They added that the lab also conducted forensics analysis of the CCTV footage of the incident.
The sources said that before the test, Zahir kept on "misguiding the officials by making excuses", adding that he also "acted as if he had fainted".
They added that Zahir Jaffer was "behaving abnormally" during the test.
The suspect was brought to Lahore by the Islamabad police under heavy security.
Remand extended
Two days ago, an Islamabad court had remanded Zahir to police custody for another three days.
During the hearing, public prosecutor Sajid Cheema had told the judge responded that the CCTV camera video of the incident had been acquired and suspect Zahir had to be taken to Lahore for a forensic exam of the footage.
The public prosecutor had requested the court to grant an extension in Zahir's remand for another three days.
The lawyer of the suspect had said that if any forensic exam is to be done, it should be done by taking photos. Weapons and mobile phones have been recovered, so no further physical remand is required, the lawyer had argued.
The plaintiff's lawyer had said that the suspect has to be taken to Lahore. "If a photo was enough, we would not have asked for [the] remand," he had responded.
The public prosecutor had said that even in the case of Usman Mirza, they had taken all the suspects to Lahore. "We want to take them to Lahore so that we can find out if the video is edited," he had said.
Later, the court granted a three-day extension in the remand. Zahir will now be produced before the court on July 31.
The murder
Noor, 27, was murdered in the federal capital on July 20, in the city's F-7 area, according to police.
She is the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, who served as Pakistan's ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.
The Islamabad police arrested Zahir 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.
The gruesome incident sparked a nationwide campaign seeking justice for her, with #JusticeforNoor becoming a top trend on Twitter.
