A local court in Islamabad has sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death for the murder of Noor Mukadam after a long-drawn trial of over four months.
The verdict was announced by district and sessions court judge Justice Atta Rabbani. Co-accused Jan Muhammad and Iftikhar, the gardener and security guard at Zahir’s house, have been sentenced to 10 years in prison each.
Zahir’s mother Asmat Adamjee, father Zakir Jaffer and cook Jamil have been acquitted.
The verdict had been reserved after the completion of arguments by the prosecution and defence earlier this week.
Following multiple twists and deferrals, the trial court had finally reached a decision in the high-profile case after the counsel representing Noor’s father completed his arguments at Tuesday’s hearing.
The trial of the gruesome murder continued for four months and eight days.
‘Favourable court decision was critical’: Noor’s father
Shortly after the verdict was out, Noor’s father Shaukat Mukadam said a favourable court decision was critical. He said he repeatedly said that this case was not only about his daughter, but was a question of all the daughters of Pakistan.
Shaukat said that he was expecting a favourable decision and that he is glad that the court took the right decision. However, he denied commenting on the suspects who have been acquitted.
Noor’s father said that he was not contacted by anybody regarding a patch-up and even if somebody contacts him now, he will not agree to it.
Replying to a question regarding media trials and support from society, he said that the world was standing with them and his family did not need to put in much effort to highlight Noor’s case.
‘Everyone hopeful for justice for Noor’
Speaking to the media ahead of the verdict’s announcement, Shaukat had said that everyone is hopeful that Noor will get justice.
“The murderer and his accomplices will get punishment and rule of law will prevail,” he said.
“I pray that the decision of Noor Mukadam murder case is based on justice.”
The murder
27-year-old Noor was found dead at the residence of prime suspect, Zahir Jaffer, in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021.
After an first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on behalf of Noor’s father, Zahir was arrested with murder weapon and bloodstained clothes from the crime scene on the day of the killing.
According to Noor’s father, former Pakistani ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam, Zahir killed Noor with a sharp instrument and severed her head.
As the police went deeper into investigations, Zahir’s parents were found involved in concealing evidence and assisting their son in the crime. Both Zahir’s mother and father were arrested on July 25, 2021.
Comments are closed.