IHC serves notices to Therapy Works' employees in Noor Mukadam case

• Noor Mukadam's father had filed a plea for cancellation of Therapy Works’ employees bail.
• Islamabad High Court seeks case records from additional district and session court.
• Suspect had hidden facts from the lower court, petitioner’s lawyer tells IHC.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday served notices to Therapy Works’ employees seeking their comments in the Noor Mukadam murder case after the deceased woman's father appealed for cancellation of their bail pleas.

IHC's Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case filed by Noor's father, Shaukat Mukadam. The court has also sought case records from additional district and session courts.

Petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Qasim Nawaz Abbasi told IHC the suspect had hidden facts from the lower court, as he mentioned his client had also named Therapy Works’ chief executive Tahir Zahoor and other employees as suspects in his supplementary statement.

A court has already dismissed the bail of Zahir Jaffar’s parents, he said, adding that the decision to grant bail to Therapy Works' employees was announced by another court.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Farooq sought comments from the respondents along with the case records and adjourned the hearing.

Shaukat moves IHC 

Shaukat on Thursday had moved the IHC, seeking cancellation of the bail granted to the Therapy Works' CEO and five other employees in the case.

A sessions court in Islamabad on Monday granted bail to six officials of Therapy Works, including its chief executive Zahoor, in the murder case.

In his petition, Shaukat had said that the officials of Therapy Works were present when the gruesome murder occurred. The sessions court avoided the rules laid down by the Supreme Court when granting bail to the suspects, read the petition.

Noor’s father said that the Therapy Works' CEO and its other employees had been "threatening him."

He argued that the suspects concealed evidence and pleaded with the court to nullify the sessions court’s orders and repeal the bail granted to the suspects.

If the bail is not revoked, the applicant may suffer irreparable damage, said Mukadam’s father.

Court extends Zahir's remand till August 30

A judicial magistrate had on August 16 extended the remand of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukadam murder case, till August 30.

Police had 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 were also arrested by the police. Jaffer was working as a psychotherapist at Therapy Works after doing a certification from the centre.

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

The suspects were arrested on August 14.

Court rejects bail pleas of Zahir Jaffer's parents

On August 5, the bail pleas of the parents of Zahir had been rejected.

Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee had filed a bail application in a local court in Islamabad stating that they were not with their son and did not know that such a thing was happening at home.

The public prosecutor had said that the suspect had been in touch with his parents, but they did not inform the police. He had argued that they tried to save their son.