Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam's fathers call for speedy justice

Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam’s fathers on Sunday demanded the courts for speedy trial of the murder cases to dispense justice and penalise the culprits, ARY News reported.

Shaukat Mukadam and Inamur Rahim – the fathers of two slain women including Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam’s – conducted a press conference today along with members of the civil society.

Shaukat Mukadam said that Sara Inam had been murdered in a brutal way. “I and my wife went to Inam’s home following the incident as we knew the pain Sara’s family was going through.”

Related: Noor Mukadam murder: Zahir Jaffer moves SC against death penalty

“We approached courts to get justice and a long trial was conducted. We were told that it was an open-and-shut case and we were promised a fair trial.”

“The [Noor Mukadam murder] case was later heard by the high court and her murderer [Zahir Jaffer] was awarded the death penalty on two counts by Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. The murder case of my daughter is now being heard by the Supreme Court.”

Shaukat demanded early hearing of the case, otherwise, the people would lose confidence in the courts due to the delay in justice.

Inamu Rahim said that her daughter was murdered a year ago. He said that he knew about [Shahnawaz Amir’s] mistreatment with Sara through her friends. We don’t know anything about the [Shahnawaz’s] family other than Ayaz Amir.”

Related: Sara Inam murder case: Court indicts Shahnawaz Amir, mother

He alleged that Shahnawaz wanted to collect money from his daughter. “Police conducted a thorough investigation into the murder case. I am grateful to police for cooperating in the case.”

Inam said that Shahnawaz’s lawyer tried to delay the case as he skipped hearings despite the appearance of the witnesses before the court. He also demanded the courts to dispense speedy justice and penalise the culprit.

Noor Mukadam murder case

The gruesome murder, in which Noor Mukadam was beheaded, had taken place on July 20, 2021, in Islamabad’s F-7 area. Noor is the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, who served as Pakistan’s ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.

The Islamabad police arrested suspect Zahir Zakir 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.

Last year in Feb, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Zahir to death and awarded 10-year imprisonment to two co-accused Mohammad Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad.

Zahir’s parents as well as TherapyWorks personnel, had been indicted by an Islamabad district and sessions court in October 2021 but were later acquitted by the sessions court.

Later, Zahir Jaffer approached the IHC in March 2022 challenging his death sentence. However, the IHC upheld the death sentence last month and converted Zahir Jaffer’s 25-year jail term into another death penalty.

Sara Inam murder case

The renowned journalist Ayaz Amir’s daughter-in-law had been murdered by her husband, Shahnawaz, in Islamabad’s Chak Shehzad suburb on September 22, 2022.

The 37-year-old was living at a farmhouse in the area where she was found dead. She was reportedly murdered with a dumbbell and her body was hidden in a bathtub in the bathroom.

Earlier, the Sara’s family decided to stay in Pakistan until the case was solved and urged the government and judiciary to dispense speedy justice.