New Delhi: A sessions court in Islamabad Thursday handed out death sentence to Zahir Jaffer, accused in the murder of Noor Mukadam. Daughter of a retired diplomat, Noor was found murdered in Jaffer's house on July 20, 2021.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani, which announced the verdict after reserving it on Tuesday, also found Jaffer guilty of rape and awarded him 25 years of rigorous imprisonment, besides a fine of Pakistani Rs 2 lakh, Dawn reported.
Co-accused Mohammad Iftikhar and Mohammad Jan, both household staff of Zahir, were sentenced to 10 years in jail. All other accused, including Zahir's parents Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, and TherapyWorks employees, were acquitted. All the suspects were present in the court Thursday, the Dawn report said.
The verdict came after months of hearings since the murder last year.
Noor, 27, was found dead at Jaffer's home in a posh Islamabad locality on July 20, 2021. An FIR was registered the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was arrested from the site of the murder on the complaint of Shaukat Mukadam, the victim's retired diplomat father.
The Mukadams also live in Islamabad.
Shaukat hailed the court's verdict, and also thanked the media for keeping the matter "alive", the Dawn report said.
Quoting the court order, the report said Zahir's death sentence under Section 302(b) (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is subject to confirmation by the Islamabad High Court.
He was also ordered to pay Rs 0.5 million to Noor's legal heir, failing to do which the amount would be realised as arrears of land revenue. Jaffer will have to undergo additional six months' simple imprisonment in case of non-realisation of the amount, the report said.
"An exemplary punishment has been given to the primary accused," Shaukat Mukadam said while speaking to the media outside the court. He called the verdict a "victory" for the court and justice. "Everyone was praying [for justice]. The whole nation and world were with us."
The Noor Mukadam Murder Case
In his complaint to the police, Shaukat had said he had gone to Rawalpindi, and his wife to the local market on July 19, 2021, ahead of Eid-ul Azha. When they returned, Noor was not at home, the Dawn report said.
Her cellphone number was found to be switched off initially, but she called her parents later to tell them that she was travelling to Lahore with friends and would return in a day or two, the report said, quoting the FIR.
Shaukat also told the police that during his phone conversation with Zahir, whose family were their acquaintances, the latter had said Noor was not with him.
At around 10 pm on July 20, the police called to inform him that Noor had been murdered, the report said. The police then took Shaukat to Zahir's house where he found that his "daughter has been brutally murdered with a sharp-edged weapon and beheaded", the FIR said.
An FIR was registered on the Shaukat's complaint, and Zahir was arrested. His parents and household staff were also taken into custody on July 24 for "hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime", the report said.
The police later said Zahir had confessed to killing Noor. His DNA test and fingerprints also showed his involvement.
Six officials of Therapy Works, whose staff had visited the murder scene before the police arrived, were also named in the case. They were indicted, along with six others, in October.