Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer (C), convicted of rape and murder charges, arrives in a court in Islamabad. Photo: AFP
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of Zahir Jaffer, convicted in the Noor Mukadam murder case, upholding his death sentence.
While the SC maintained the death penalty for the murder charges, it commuted the death sentence in the rape case to life imprisonment. The court also reduced the 10-year sentence for the abduction case to one year. The court upheld the order for compensation to Noor Mukadam’s family. Additionally, Jaffer’s gardener, Muhammad Jan, and his guard, Muhammad Iftikhar, were ordered to be released.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi issued a seven-page additional note, stating that while he agrees with the majority decision, he has provided further reasons for the verdict. He emphasised that all evidence against Jaffer is part of the official record. He urged today’s youth to learn from this incident. Jaffer has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision.
In June, the SC had released a detailed verdict upholding the death sentence for Jaffer. While the top court maintained his conviction for rape, it had commuted the associated death sentence to life imprisonment. The judgment spanned 13 pages and reiterated the court’s stance that Jaffer, who was found guilty of the brutal killing, is “a ruthless killer” and “not worthy of sympathy.”
According to the verdict, the SC upheld the rulings of both lower courts, terming them correct and unanimous. A key element of the court’s reasoning was based on the Silent Witness Theory—a legal principle that allows for video evidence to be accepted even in the absence of an eyewitness. The court noted, “Authentic footage can serve as self-sufficient evidence, and recorded video or images can be presented as testimony.”
The court had upheld Jaffer’s death sentence for murder but converted his sentence for rape into life imprisonment. He was acquitted of the abduction charge, while his sentence for unlawfully confining Noor was maintained.
The SC had also ruled that the punishments for co-accused Iftikhar and Jan would stand. However, in a show of leniency, it ordered their release on the grounds that they had already served sufficient time. The judgment had concluded with a note that Justice Ali Baqar Najafi would add a supplementary note to the verdict.
Noor Mukadam case
Noor Mukadam, 27, was found murdered with her head detached from her body at Jaffer’s residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was arrested at the site of the murder.
In February 2022, a district and sessions judge convicted Jaffer of murdering Mukadam, sentencing him to death along with 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000. The Islamabad High Court on March 14, 2023 upheld the death sentence of Jaffer and converted his 25-year jail term into another death penalty for rape.
