Noor Mukadam case: Supreme Court upholds Zahir Jaffer's death sentence

• Jaffer's rape sentence converted to life imprisonment.
• Kidnapping conviction dismissed by Supreme Court bench.
• Staff sentences reduced, jail time deemed sufficient.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer for the murder of Noor Mukadam, while partially modifying other charges in its judgment on the high-profile case.

Jaffer, the son of an industrialist, attacked 27-year-old Noor Mukadam at his sprawling Islamabad mansion in 2021, torturing her with a knuckleduster and using a "sharp-edged weapon" to behead her.

A three-member bench, led by Justice Hashim Kakar and comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, issued the order in the infamous case.

The Supreme Court's ruling marks a major moment in the trial of the brutal murder of Noor — a case that sparked widespread outrage and prompted debate about justice and women's safety in the country.

The apex court dismissed Jaffer’s appeal against his conviction under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, maintaining both his death sentence and fine.

However, the court converted his death sentence under Section 376 (rape) to life imprisonment. Additionally, his conviction for kidnapping was overturned, with the sentence under that charge declared void.

Regarding Jaffer’s co-accused — the household staff — the court reduced the sentences of his watchman and gardener. It ruled that the punishments already served by both would suffice.

Mukadam, the daughter of a former ambassador, had made repeated attempts to escape the night she was killed, but was blocked by two members of Jaffer's household staff.

"This is a victory for all the women of Pakistan. It shows that our justice system can deliver justice and should give women more confidence in the legal process," Shafaq Zaidi, a childhood friend of Mukadam, told AFP outside the court.

"This was our last resort, and it's hard to put into words what this outcome means to us."

Today's hearing

At the outset of the proceedings, Zahir's counsel Salman Safdar presented arguments in defence of his client. Safdar argued that the prosecution’s entire case rested on CCTV footage and the DVR system.

He said that the evidence against the appellant must be beyond a reasonable doubt. He further contended that the court could not go beyond the footage presented as evidence.

"The footage presented by the prosecution in the Islamabad High Court failed to play," he added.

Justice Kakar responded: "You have already accepted the CCTV footage you are now objecting to." He added that the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory had also confirmed the footage was not tampered with.

"Had a human recorded the footage, one could argue that selective parts were shown. But there is no human intervention in this case — the footage was recorded directly by a CCTV camera," Justice Kakar remarked.

Following this, Safdar concluded his arguments.

The counsel representing the two co-accused — the watchman and gardener — then began presenting his case. He said that both were sentenced to 10 years in prison, and the allegation against them was that they prevented the victim from leaving.

Justice Najafi remarked: “Had they not stopped the victim, the outcome might have been different.”

The defence for the household staff argued that aside from being present at the residence, the watchman and gardener had committed no other offence.

After the arguments on behalf of the watchman and gardener concluded, Shah Khawar, the counsel for Noor, began presenting his submissions.

Justice Kakar noted that many facts in the case were already admitted and there was no need to argue those further. Justice Najafi inquired whether Noor's mobile phone had been recovered. Khawar replied that while the call records existed, the phone itself was not taken into custody.

The case

Noor, 27, was found dead at a private residence in Sector F-7/4, Islamabad, in July 2021. Zahir Jaffer, the primary suspect, was taken into custody at the crime scene and an FIR was filed by the victim’s father later the same day.

According to the original FIR, Noor’s father reported that she had been “beheaded after being killed with a sharp weapon” in a gruesome act that shocked the nation.

In February 2022, a district and sessions court sentenced Jaffer to death, alongside a 25-year prison term with hard labour and a fine of Rs200,000, concluding the trial that continued for over four months.

Besides the prime accused, two members of his domestic staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, were each handed 10-year prison sentences, while other co-accused — including Jaffer’s parents and several TherapyWorks employees — were acquitted.

In March 2023, the Islamabad High Court upheld Jaffer’s death sentence and upgraded his 25-year sentence to an additional death penalty, on the appeals filed against the punishment awarded to the convicts.

An appeal challenging the IHC verdict was subsequently filed in the Supreme Court in April last year.