Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer for the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam, while making alterations to other charges originally brought against him.
The top court dismissed Jaffer’s appeal against his conviction under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, reaffirming the death penalty and associated fine imposed for Noor’s premeditated killing.
However, the court modified the conviction under Section 376, converting the death sentence for rape into a life imprisonment term. Furthermore, it overturned his kidnapping conviction, declaring the sentence under that charge null and void.
Jaffer’s household staff, who were also convicted alongside him, received partial relief in the judgment. The court decided to reduce the sentences handed to the watchman and gardener, ruling that the time they had already served in prison was sufficient punishment, thereby releasing them from further incarceration.
Noor Mukadam, 27, was found murdered on July 20, 2021, at a residence in Sector F-7/4, Islamabad. Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect and the person later convicted, was apprehended at the scene. A first information report (FIR) was promptly filed by Noor’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, a former diplomat, who reported that Noor had been beheaded after being attacked with a sharp weapon.
The horrifying nature of the crime stirred widespread public outrage and brought renewed attention to issues of gender-based violence and impunity.
Following a trial lasting over four months, a district and sessions court in February 2022 sentenced Jaffer to death, imposed a 25-year prison term with hard labour, and fined him Rs200,000. Two domestic employees, Iftikhar and Jameel, received 10-year sentences each, while other individuals initially accused in the case — including Jaffer’s parents and employees of TherapyWorks, a mental health service provider — were acquitted.
In March 2023, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) not only upheld the death sentence for murder but also upgraded Jaffer’s 25-year sentence related to rape to an additional death sentence. That decision was challenged in the SC the following month, leading to a long legal process.
Noor’s father, frustrated by the delays, had called on the judiciary to hasten proceedings of the case that remained pending for over 18 months.