Islamabad: Zahir Jaffer, the main culprit involved in the cold-blooded murder of Noor Mukaddam, has moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan against his death sentence, contending that the trial and high court could not identify the fundamental flaws in the First Information Report (FIR) and that their verdicts were based on “erroneous appreciation of evidence”.
On July 20, 2021, Noor Mukaddam, daughter of an ex-diplomat, was brutally murdered after physical and sexual assault by Zahir Jaffer – a spoiled son of rich parents – in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4.
Zahir was arrested the next day, and the case against him, his parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, three domestic help Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel and six Therapy Works employees, including Tahir Zahoor, Amjad, Dilip Kumar, Abdul Haq, Wamiq and Samar Abbas, was initiated – that would go on for seven months.
A few days later after his arrest, on July 26, Zahir confessed to murdering Noor.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Zahir informed his father on July 20 about what he had done to the victim, and in response, Zahir’s father contacted Therapy Works, seeking their help in getting his son out of the house.
Later, Zahir’s counsel also tried to prove him mentally ill, but the plea was turned down by the court.
On January 15, 2022, Shaukat Mukaddam, Noor’s father, testified in court and demanded capital punishment for Zahir.
After this long period of trial, on February 24, 2022, the court in the Capital awarded the death penalty to Zahir Jaffer. The court also found Jaffer guilty of rape and handed over 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000.
The court also awarded ten years imprisonment to Iftikhar and Jan Muhammad for abetting the crime.
On March 13, 2023, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), including IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq dismissed a plea challenging the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer and sentenced him to death twice. In the verdict, the two-member bench rejected the appeals of co-accused Iftikhar and Mohammad as they had also moved court against the verdict.
The convict has now filed an appeal against the IHC order through Salman Safdar advocate, contending that the petitioner and his family are aggrieved with the media trial and the constant pressure “that was visibly present during the investigation stage” and subsequently continued during Jaffer’s trial.
