“This verdict gives hope and justice to women all over the country,” said a friend of the victim. Meanwhile, the others involved with Jaffer were given reduced punishments.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Zahir Jaffer in the murder of Noor Mukadam, a key development in the Noor Mukadam Case. While making some changes to the other charges in this widely discussed case.
In 2021, Zahir Jaffer, the son of a wealthy industrialist, attacked 27-year-old Noor Mukadam at his large Islamabad home. He violently struck her with a knuckleduster and then took her life using a sharp weapon.
The decision in this high-profile Noor Mukadam Case case came from a three-judge panel led by Justice Hashim Kakar, with Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi also presiding.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is an important milestone in the Noor Mukadam Case of Noor’s tragic murder. It caught the country’s attention and sparked serious talks about justice and women’s safety.
Jaffer’s appeal against his conviction for murder under Section 302 was dismissed by the Supreme Court, which confirmed his death penalty and the financial penalty in the Noor Mukadam Case.
The court changed his death penalty for rape under Section 376 to life imprisonment. It also cleared him of the kidnapping charge and canceled the punishment for it.
The court reduced the sentences for Jaffer’s co-accused household staff, explaining that the watchman and gardener had already spent enough time in custody and didn’t require any further punishment.
On the night she was killed, Mukadam whose father once served as an ambassador tried repeatedly to get away, only to be held back by two members of Jaffer’s staff.
Outside the court, Shafaq Zaidi, a childhood friend of Mukadam, told AFP, “This verdict in the Noor Mukadam Case is a proud moment for women across Pakistan. It clearly shows that our justice system works and should encourage more women to trust it and speak up.”
We held onto this as our final hope, and it’s hard to explain how much this decision means to our hearts.
What Happened in Today’s Hearing
At the start of the hearing, Zahir’s lawyer Salman Safdar said the prosecution’s case mostly relied on CCTV videos and DVR evidence.
Zahir emphasized that the evidence must leave no reasonable doubt. He also insisted that the court’s decision should be based only on the video footage presented as proof.
He claimed the prosecution’s CCTV recording didn’t work properly in the Islamabad High Court. Justice Kakar quickly replied, “You accepted this footage earlier, so why doubt it now?”. He added that experts at the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory had tested the footage and found no signs of tampering.
Justice Kakar remarked, “If a human had recorded the video, there could be concerns about cherry-picking parts. But this footage comes straight from the CCTV camera without any human editing.”
With that, Safdar finished his defense.
Then, the lawyer for the co-accused the watchman and gardener began his case. He explained that both had been sentenced to 10 years for simply preventing the victim from leaving.
If they hadn’t stopped her, the situation might have been avoided,” Justice Najafi observed.
The lawyers defending the watchman and gardener argued that their only connection was being at the property. They hadn’t committed any other crime.
After the watchman and gardener gave their defense, Noor’s lawyer, Shah Khawar, began speaking.
Justice Kakar said that many important facts were already agreed upon, so there was no need to discuss them again. Then Justice Najafi asked if Noor’s phone had been recovered. Khawar answered that although they had the call records, the authorities never took the phone itself.
The investigation
In July 2021, someone sadly discovered Noor, 27 years old, dead in a private home in Islamabad’s Sector F-7/4. Police caught Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect, right at the scene. Later that same day, Noor’s father filed an official complaint.
The FIR described the brutal crime, stating that Noor was “beheaded with a sharp weapon,” a shocking act that deeply disturbed the whole country.
After a trial lasting more than four months, the district and sessions court handed Zahir Jaffer a death sentence in February 2022. Along with 25 years of hard labor in prison and a fine of Rs200,000, bringing the case to a close.
In July 2021, someone discovered Noor, 27 years old, dead in a private home in Islamabad’s Sector F-7/4. Police arrested Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect, right at the scene. Later that same day, Noor’s father filed an official complaint.
The FIR described the brutal crime, stating that someone used a sharp weapon to behead Noor — a shocking act that deeply disturbed the whole country.
After a trial lasting more than four months. The district and sessions court handed Zahir Jaffer a death sentence in February 2022 in the Noor Mukadam Case along with 25 years of hard labor in prison and a fine of Rs200,000, bringing the case to a close.
The court sentenced Jaffer’s domestic helpers, Iftikhar and Jameel, to 10 years in prison. Meanwhile, the court acquitted and released Jaffer’s parents and a few Therapy Works staff members.
By March 2023, the Islamabad High Court confirmed the death sentence for Jaffer. Escalated his 25-year jail sentence to an additional death penalty following the appeal hearings in the Noor Mukadam Case.
Later, in April of the previous year, the case moved to the Supreme Court for further examination.
