The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against the death sentence which was granted to him in the case of the murder of Noor Mukadam.
A bench of three members chaired by judge Hashim Kakar and including the judges Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi, confirmed the sentence after hearing the final arguments on Tuesday.
Previously, the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) had also confirmed Jaffer’s death penalty issued by the court of first instance and converted his prison sentence for accusations of rape in an additional death penalty.
Noor Mukadam, twenty -seven years old, daughter of the former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was murdered and beheaded in a chic district of Islamabad in July 2021. The police accused Jaffer, an American national and the heir to the group of companies in Jaffer – one of the richest families in Pakistan.
Defense lawyer Salman Safdar argued that the entire accusation case was based on video surveillance sequences and DVR recordings, stressing that evidence must be reasonable doubt to support a conviction. He questioned the guard chain and insisted that the images could not be accepted without in -depth verification.
At the start of the hearing, Zahir’s lawyer argued that any evidence against his client “must be beyond doubt”, arguing that the court could not “go beyond the images presented to the court”.
He said that the accusation had presented the images on a USB at the IHC, but it could not be played.
At this stage, a co -accused lawyer – Mohammad Iftikhar (Watchman) and Jan Mohammad (gardener), whose 10 -year -old sentences were also confirmed by the IHC – briefly presented his arguments.
The lawyer detailed the sorrows, recalling that the goalkeeper and the gardener were accused of having “prevented the victim from fleeing”.
Judge Najafi observed: “If the suspects had not arrested the victim, the situation would have been different.”
The lawyer said that the two co-accused had “no crime other than being at home” at the time of the murder.
“What was the need to work more than [what] the salary [is paid for]? “Judge Kakar pointed out.
In response, judge Kakar noted that the defense had already accepted the authenticity of the sequence earlier and stressed that medical-legal reports confirmed that the videos had not been falsified. He also declared that the images had been captured by an automated system without human intervention, which makes doubts about the selective publishing unrelevant.
Read: Noor Mukadam’s killer claims madness
The bench also addressed the defense allegations that the initial charges did not include rape or removal, which were then added.
Safdar argued that the murder weapon was missing from Jaffer fingerprints and had raised concerns about the absence of any mental health assessment.
The court then heard lawyers representing the co -accused – the staff of the house of Jaffer, including his goalkeeper and gardener, who were sentenced and inflicted on a sentence of 10 years each.
Their defense councils maintained that their customers were only present on the site and did not actively participate in the murder.
To which Judge Najafi observed that not preventing the victim from leaving may have influenced the result, while judge Kakar asked why the staff had exceeded his jobs.
While the arguments ended, lawyer Shah Khawar, representing the Mukadam family, began his refutation. The judges noted that many facts were undisputed, including the presence of the victim at the accused’s house and their relationship.
Find out more: Noor Mukadam Melland Case: a chronology
Noor Mukadam’s lawyer Shah Khawar started his arguments.
During the procedure, judge Hashim Kakar pointed out that several facts in the case are not disputed, declaring: “It is not necessary to argue on the agreed facts.”
He noted that it was an established fact, the condemned and the victim lived together and described their relationship as “the gender seen in Europe, not here”.
Judge Kakar also indicated that such relations are “regrettable for our society” and “contrary to religion and morality”.
He also wondered if Noor’s voluntary arrival in the condemned house would reduce the accusation of kidnapping and added that even without video surveillance images, “the recovery of the body of the condemned house is sufficient.”
Judge Baqir Najafi asked if Noor Mukadam’s mobile phone had been recovered. Shah Khawar replied that if the call files are available, the phone itself has not been placed in police custody.
During the previous hearing last week, the Supreme Court had postponed the procedure following a mutual agreement between the two parties after the defense asked for more time to submit additional documents, arguing that they were crucial and stressed that Jaffer’s mental illness had not been correctly examined before the lower courts.
Judge Kakar had criticized frequent delays in the case, while Judge Najafi noted that the argument of mental health could still be made without a new request.
Despite the opposition of the prosecutor, the court agreed to adjourn, ordering the two parties to return entirely prepared on May 19.
In February 2022, a district and sessions judge condemned Jaffer for murder and sentenced him to death with 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 rupees.
His cleaning staff, Iftikhar and Jameel – co -accused in the case – were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while all the other suspects, including Jaffer’s parents and therapy employees, were acquitted.
