Zahir Jaffer to remain on death row as SC upholds his sentence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal filed by Zahir Jaffer in the Noor Mukadam murder case, upholding his death sentence.

Noor Mukadam, 27, was found brutally murdered at Jaffer’s residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. She was tortured and then beheaded. Zahir Jaffer was arrested from the scene on the same day, and an FIR was registered against him.

In February 2022, a district and sessions court sentenced Jaffer to death and awarded him 25 years of rigorous imprisonment.

A three-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, and Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, heard the appeals in the case.

The court also reduced the sentences of Zahir Jaffer's guard and gardener from ten years to four years. As they have already served this reduced term, they will now be released.

Zahir Jaffer’s lawyer, Barrister Salman Safdar, argued that the prosecution's case relied heavily on CCTV footage and DVR recordings, stressing that the evidence must be beyond reasonable doubt.

He stated that the video presented in the Islamabad High Court did not function properly and was instead played from a USB provided by the defense.

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Following Safdar’s arguments, the lawyers for co-accused, Zahir Jaffer's gaurd and gardener, began their defence, maintaining that their only alleged crime was preventing the victim from leaving the premises.

Justice Najafi remarked that the situation would have been different if the victim had not been restrained. Justice Kakar noted that no one is obligated to act beyond the scope of their paid duties.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had also upheld the trial court’s death sentence for Zahir Jaffer and converted his jail term for sexual assault into a second death penalty.

Jaffer’s parents and six employees of Therapy Works were also indicted for allegedly covering up the crime but were later acquitted.

According to Noor’s father, former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, his daughter went missing on July 20 while he was out buying a sacrificial animal for Eid and his wife was at a tailor.

They later received a call from Noor saying she was going to Lahore with friends. That evening, Jaffer told the family she was not with him. At 10 PM, Kohsar police informed the family that Noor had been found dead.

Jaffer had confessed to his crime, and his DNA and fingerprints also matched. A forensic report confirmed that the accused had sexually assaulted the victim before the murder.

#JusticeforNoor: SC Upholds Ruling against Zahir Jaffar