The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer for the 2021 murder of Noor Mukadam, paving the way for his execution in the high-profile case.
A three-member bench led by Justice Hashim Kakar and comprising Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi issued the order against Jaffer, whose counsel had sought clemency over “lack of evidence.” The son of industrialist, Jaffer was caught on tape attacking the 27-year-old Noor at his Islamabad mansion. Harrowing evidence indicated he had tortured her and used a “sharp-edged weapon” to behead her. CCTV footage showed Noor, the daughter of a former ambassador, attempting to escape Jaffer’s residence the night she was murdered.
Jaffer has one more chance at securing relief. Article 45 of the Constitution provides him the option for a presidential pardon, or reprieve, or remit, suspension or commuting of his sentence.
After the ruling by the top court, a presidential pardon under Article 45 of the Constitution could possibly provide Zahir pardon, or reprieve, or remit, suspend or commute his sentence.
In its ruling, the bench dismissed Jaffer’s appeal against his conviction under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, upholding his death sentence and fine. However, it converted a separate death sentence under Section 376 (rape) to life imprisonment and overturned his conviction for kidnapping, declaring the sentence under that charge void.
The court also reduced the sentences of Jan Muhammad and Muhammad Iftikhar—the gardener and security guard at Jaffer’s house who had blocked her escape—to time served.
“This is a victory for all the women of Pakistan,” Shafaq Zaidi, a childhood friend of Mukadam, told the AFP news agency outside the court. “It shows that our justice system can deliver justice and should give women more confidence in the legal process,” she added.
During the hearing, Jaffer’s counsel Salman Safdar argued that the prosecution’s entire case rested on CCTV footage and the DVR system. He said evidence against any appellant must be beyond reasonable doubt, arguing the court could not go beyond the footage submitted as evidence.
“The footage presented by the prosecution in the Islamabad High Court failed to play,” he claimed, with Justice Kakar noting that lawyer had already accepted the CCTV footage he was now objecting to. He further observed that the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory had confirmed the footage was untampered. “Had a human recorded the footage, one could argue that selective parts were shown. But there is no human intervention in this case—the footage was recorded directly by a CCTV camera,” he remarked, referring to the footage recovered from Jaffer’s own CCTV setup.
Meanwhile, the counsel representing the security guard and gardener said his clients were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment over preventing the victim from escaping. He argued the two had not committed any offense other than being present at the residence at the time of the murder.
The counsel for Noor’s family, Shah Khawar, informed the court that authorities had recovered her call records, but did not take her phone into custody.
Noor was found dead at Jaffer’s residence in Islamabad in July 2021. He was taken into custody at the crime scene. Police registered a FIR against him later the same day.
Jaffer was found guilty of Noor’s murder in February 2022, nearly eight months after her body was found at his residence in Islamabad. The brutal murder—with Noor’s father stating in the FIR that she had been killed with a sharp instrument and beheaded—triggered mass outrage, with Pakistanis demanding justice amidst concerns of Jaffer escaping punishment due to his wealthy family’s political connections and his American citizenship.
On Feb. 24, 2022, the trial court sentenced him to 25 years’ imprisonment with hard labor, as well as a fine of Rs. 0.2 million for rape, and capital punishment for murder. In March 2023, the Islamabad High Court upheld his death sentence and also amended his life imprisonment into capital punishment. Jaffer then filed an appeal challenging the IHC verdict in the Supreme Court in April 2024.