Noor Mukadam murder: Islamabad court extends Zahir Jaffer's judicial remand till August 30

• Judge approves police request to conduct DNA tests of Zahir Jaffer's two employees. 
• Six employees of Therapy Works to be brought before court today. 
• Noor, 27, was murdered and her head severed on July 20. Zahir Jaffer is the prime suspect in her murder case. 

ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate extended the remand of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukadam murder case, till August 30 on Monday. 

Police submitted a request before the judge, seeking permission to conduct the DNA tests of Jaffer's two employees, Raheel and Iftikhar, who were brought before the court from Adiala Jail. 

Six employees of Therapy Works, a counselling and psychotherapy centre in Islamabad, were also arrested by the police. They will be presented before an Islamabad court as police will seek an extension in their remand as well. 

Jaffer was working as a psychotherapist at Therapy Works after doing a certification from the centre. 

The six employees of Therapy Works have been accused of concealing evidence after meeting Zahir Jaffer's father, Zakir Jaffer. They were named by the plaintiff in a supplementary statement submitted to the court. 

The accused were arrested on August 14. 

Shortly after Noor Mukadam's murder and the revelation that Zahir Jaffer was employed as a therapist there, Therapy Works had issued the following statement:

“Zahir Jaffer was enrolled as a student in UK Level 3 from September 2015 to September 2016. After this, he joined UK Level 4 from October 2016 to June 2018. He did not complete his coursework and International Essays, and accordingly was never ever given permission to see clients." 

However, a now-deleted post by Therapy Works on their Instagram page featured Zahir Jaffer, among the centre's UK Level five candidates. 

The murder

Noor, 27, was murdered in the federal capital on July 20, in the city's F-7 area, according to the 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.