��������Ƶ

ISLAMABAD: The investigation officer for last month’s gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam said on Friday a police probe into the case was almost complete but forensic reports to determine if the victim was sexually assaulted before she was killed were still awaited. 
Mukadam was found beheaded at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 sector on July 20 in a case that has sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The victim was the daughter of Shaukat Mukadam, Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan. 
The key suspect, Zahir Jaffer, who is on judicial remand in Adiala Jail in Islamabad’s twin city of Rawalpindi, was arrested from the crime scene, his home, on the day of the murder. He had reportedly been practicing as a psychotherapist after enrolling in a certification course with Therapy Works. Police say a team from the counselling centre was already at the crime scene when they arrived on July 20, having been summoned by Jaffer's parents, who are also under arrest.
Zahoor and his five employees were arrested on August 15 and remanded in judicial custody until August 30.
“We have almost completed our investigation in the case and are now just waiting for a few more forensic reports from Lahore,” Inspector Abdul Sattar, the investigation officer, told Arab News on Friday, adding that the relevant forensic agency was yet to finalize reports regarding the possible sexual assault of the victim before her beheading and whether she was given a sedative or poison before being murdered. 
“We are expected to receive all these reports in the next couple days, and we may submit a detailed charge-sheet in the court next week,” Sattar said. 
Advocate Shah Khawar, who is representing the Mukadam family, expressed satisfaction over the pace of the investigation, saying he believed available forensic evidence was sufficient to secure Jaffer’s conviction.
“Yes, there is no eye-witness in this case, but we have strong circumstantial and forensic evidence to get the culprit convicted in the murder,” he told Arab News.
Meanwhile, a district court in Islamabad on Friday adjourned the bail petition of the owner of Therapy Works until August 23 as his lawyer failed to argue before the court.
A total of ten suspects are under arrest for Mukadam’s murder, including the key suspect Jaffer, six Therapy Works employees, and a cook, gardener and a security guard at the Jaffer home.
A lawyer for Jaffer’s parents said they had not decided as yet whether to apply for bail in the Islamabad High Court “or directly become part of the trial to secure their acquittal,” Advocate Rizwan Abbasi, who represents Jaffer’s parents, told Arab News.
He said his clients could join the trial directly without seeking bail in the case to prove their innocence: “Nothing is final at this stage. We are looking at different options.”