- The three -member bench intends to a high -level case.
- The defense lawyer takes more time for submissions.
- Following hearing set with complete preparation directive.
Islamabad: The Supreme Court postponed the hearing of Zahir Jaffer on Monday on his death sentence in the murder of Noor Mukadam on Murkaader until May 19, following a consensus of the two parties.
A bench of three members, led by judge Hashim Kakar and including judge Ishtiaq Ibrahim and judge Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the very publicized matter.
Defense lawyer Salman Safdar and the lawyer Shah Khawar were present before the court during the procedure.
SAFDAR asked for a postponement, citing the need to submit additional documents. Judge Kakar, however, expressed his dissatisfaction with delays, to notice: “Why should we give an adjournment if you are already present in court?”
The judge also criticized unnecessary delays in the justice system, claiming: “In our court, a case is only delayed if the judge or a lawyer dies.” He questioned the consequences of the reversal of a sentence after someone spent 20 years in the death corridor, asking what a liberated condemned one might think in such a scenario.
“Our fault lies in unnecessary advancies – not the system,” said judge Kakar. “If a condemned man appears before us after being acquitted, he can also start the file,,” he added.
Despite the defense lawyer’s request, the court argued that a decision would be made once the request submitted. Judge Najafi also intervened, advising Khawar to respond officially only after submission of the request.
The hearing was adjourned until May 19, with instructions for the two legal teams to prepare fully.
The case
Noor, 27, was discovered dead in a private residence in the F-7/4 sector, Islamabad, on July 20, 2021. Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect, was placed in police custody on crime and a FIR was filed by the father of the victim 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 horrible act that shocked the nation.
In February 2022, a district and sessions court sentenced Jaffer to death, in parallel with a sentence of 25 years in prison with forced labor and a fine of 200,000 rupees, concluding the trial which continued for more than four months.
In addition to the main accused, two members of his domestic staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, while other co -accused – including the parents of Jaffer and several therapy employees – were acquitted.
In March 2023, the High Court of Islamabad confirmed Jaffer’s death penalty and improved his 25 -year sentence to an additional death sentence, on the calls filed against the sentence granted to convicted people.
A call contesting the Verdict of the IHC was then filed at the Supreme Court in April of last year.
Shaukat Mukadam, a former diplomat, had previously held a press conference on the birthday birthday of Noor, urging the Supreme Court to accelerate the procedures in the case which remained pending for more than 18 months.
