ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer in a case pertaining to the murder of Noor Mukadam and also converted his life imprisonment into a death sentence for raping Ms Mukadam.

The court, however, rejected the appeals seeking punishment for Jaffer for abducting Ms Mukadam and those filed against the acquittal of therapy workers. The verdict in the case had been reserved on December 21, 2022, by a two-member division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan.

As the bench announced the verdict, the father of Ms Mukadam, her sister, and members of civil society were present in the courtroom to witness the proceedings. Justice Farooq confirmed the death sentence awarded to the convict by the sessions court.

The bench also accepted the appeal of Ms Mukadam’s father to increase the punishment meted out to Zahir Jaffer for raping Noor Mukadam and converted the life imprisonment into capital punishment.

Converts life term to capital sentence over Noor’s rape

The bench also dismissed the appeals seeking the acquittal of domestic servants of Jaffer’s security guard Iftikhar Ahmed and gardener Jan Mohammad.

On the other hand, the court rejected the appeals against the acquittal of therapy workers who allegedly concealed the evidence and the body of the deceased. Jaffer had called five Therapyworks employees to his F-7/4 residence - the crime scene. When the workers tried to enter the room, Jaffer got confused and attacked them.

One worker, Amjad Mehmood, was injured and shifted to the hospital. The injured lied to the hospital administration and did not register the incident in the medical slip. He mentioned the reason for his injury to be a road accident.

Noor Mukadam, 27, was murdered and beheaded by Zahir Jaffer on July 20, 2021. Following the gruesome murder, the accused was taken into custody by the Islamabad police. Later on, the police widened the scope of this case and arrested Zahir Jaffer’s parents, domestic staff, and therapy workers.

Trial court ruling

A trial court in Islamabad on Feb 24, 2022, sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death for the murder of Noor Mukadam. The court also found Jaffer guilty of rape and handed him 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000. The trial court sentenced two co-accused Mohammad Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad — both domestic servants at Jaffer’s house — to 10 years imprisonment. Iftikhar and Mohammad, who were working as watchman and gardener, respectively, were punished for aiding in the crime.

As per a challan submitted by the police to the trial court in September, Ms Mukadam lost six life-saving opportunities due to the connivance of the accomplices of the principal accused, Zahir Jaffer.

However, Jaffer’s parents — Zakir Jaffer and mother Asmat Adamji — as well as TherapyWorks personnel were acquitted by the sessions court. Jamil Ahmed, a cook at the Jaffer’s residence, was also acquitted by the court.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2023