Pakistani law enforcement is investigating the brutal murder of the daughter of a former diplomat, 27-year-old Nur Mukadam. On July 20, she was found decapitated in an elite area of Islamabad, transfers Reuters.
Suspected of the murder is Zahir Jaffer, a representative of one of the richest families in Pakistan, who is also a US citizen. According to investigators, the suspect and his victim knew each other. Jaffer invited Mukadam to his home, for two days forcibly held her there, and then killed her. Nur’s father, Shavkat Mukadam, once worked as a diplomat in South Korea and Kazakhstan.
Police detained Zahir Jaffer on July 20 at his home, informs Geo.tv. At the moment, the accused has been arrested. Also arrested were the parents of the alleged killer and two house helpers who tried to hide the traces of the crime. The defendant’s lawyer asks to soften the measure of restraint under the pretext that the murder weapons have been found and the suspect will not be able to get rid of the evidence.
Zahir Jaffer confessed to the murder. He explained that he had dealt with the girl, since she had cheated on him, writes The Daily Pakistan.
One of the proofs was a video recording made by an outdoor surveillance camera. She recorded how the girl made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from Jaffer, leaving his house through a window on the first floor.
Thousands of women suffer from physical violence in Pakistan every year, and hundreds of them die violently. However, the murder of Mukadam shocked even Pakistani society, since representatives of the upper social strata appear in this story. The crime has caused the greatest resonance in the history of the fight against violence to which residents of Pakistan are subjected, Reuters notes. Protests took place not only in major cities of the country, but also in Canada and the United States, where there are large Pakistani diasporas. The hashtag #JusticeForNoor has become popular among Twitter users in Pakistan.
“Every woman I’ve talked to about the Noor case confesses that she is terribly afraid of the men around her,” said Benazir Shah, a Lahore-based journalist. Some of the women even suffer from insomnia due to constant fear.
Human rights activists demand that the authorities pass a law against domestic violence, which should include both verbal abuse and psychological pressure. However, the draft of such a law raises objections from experts from the Council of Muslim Scholars. As its head Qibla Ayaz said, the bill contains ambiguous wording that is unacceptable for the conservative Pakistani society.
“Does this mean that a daughter or wife can complain when a father or husband does not allow them to leave the house? This may not be acceptable to all Pakistanis, ”says Qibla Ayaz. He believes that the law against domestic violence can create social tensions and lead to even more domestic violence.