By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday upheld the death penalty for Zahir Jaffer, convicted of the gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam in a case that stunned the nation and spotlighted the pervasive issue of violence against women.
The ruling, delivered nearly four years after Mukadam’s tortured and beheaded body was discovered at Jaffer’s Islamabad home, came from a three-member bench led by Justice Hashim Kakar.
While affirming the death sentence for the July 2021 murder, the court adjusted other penalties. A second death sentence for rape was commuted to life imprisonment, and a 10-year kidnapping term was slashed to one year.
the court reduced the sentences of two co-accused, Mohammad Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad, declaring their time served sufficient and ordering their immediate release.
The decision, however, is not necessarily the final word. Under Article 45 of Pakistan’s Constitution, Jaffer could seek a presidential pardon, which might reprieve, remit, suspend, or commute his sentence.
Mukadam, 27, was found murdered at Jaffer’s residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. An investigation revealed she had been tortured before being beheaded. Jaffer was arrested at the scene, and police later confirmed his confession, backed by DNA and fingerprint evidence tying him to the crime.
In February 2022, a district and sessions court sentenced Jaffer to death for murder under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code and to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for rape under Section 376, along with a Rs100,000 fine. The court also imposed a 10-year term for kidnapping under Section 364 and ordered him to pay Rs0.5 million to Noor’s legal heir. Jaffer’s parents, prominent businessman Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamji, were indicted in October 2021 for allegedly hiding evidence but were later acquitted.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC), in March 2023, upheld the death sentence for murder and escalated the rape conviction to a second death penalty, dismissing Jaffer’s appeal. The IHC also rejected challenges from Jaffer’s household staff—watchman Mohammad Iftikhar and gardener Jan Mohammad—who had each received 10-year sentences.
Jaffer appealed to the Supreme Court in April 2023, arguing that his conviction stemmed from an “erroneous appreciation” of evidence and flaws in the FIR. The case languished in the top court for over a year and a half.
“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, Noor’s childhood friend, told reporters after the court’s verdict. “This was our last resort, and it’s hard to put into words what this outcome means to us.”
Human rights defender Tahira Abdullah also hailed the decision. “It is a milestone achievement in Pakistani women’s ongoing struggle for justice — and also against entrenched patriarchy, sexism and misogyny, openly expressed in court by the defence legal team today as well.”
Mukadam’s murder sparked protests and outrage across Pakistan, thrusting issues of gender-based violence into the spotlight.
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