LAHORE: In a major breakthrough in the investigation of 26-year-old Belgian national Maira Zulfiqar’s murder case, main accused, Zahir Jadoon, has confessed the murder in police custody.
The police had nominated Zahir in the FIR and arrested him.
During the interrogation, Zahir said he had an argument with Maira while she was drunk.
In a confessional statement, Zahir said, “I killed Maira on the morning of May 3. A friend, Iqra, was also aware of the murder.” He added that he committed the murder along with a friend of slain Maira.
“Since 2019, Maira’s family knew that Maira was in Dubai and they had no contact with Maira. Maira blackmailed me with a video and I killed her after I got annoyed over her blackmailing,” the confessional statement reads.
Police said that Zahir had earlier fled to Islamabad after the murder.
Earlier in the day, the Punjab inspector general shifted the inquiry of Maira murder case from CIA Police Cantonment to CIA Police Model Town after the father of Maira met with the IG and expressed his dissatisfaction over the CIA Cantonment.
The father of Maira said her daughter’s life would have been saved, if CIA Cantonment had acted on her complaint of receiving threats.
Another accused, Saad Amir Butt, also appeared before the police and recorded his statement.
Saad Amir had availed interim bail in the case.
He said he was sleeping at his house when Maira was murdered and he did not kill her.
“Maira was my friend but later our friendship was broken,” he said. “I never tried to kidnap Maira,” Saad added while recording his statement before the police.
He said Maira lodged a case against him on the behest of Zahir and the case was written by the lawyer of Zahir.
Maira Zulfiqar, 26, was killed after four men allegedly broke into her home in Lahore and shot her.
