ISLAMABAD: In a historic verdict, a local court on Thursday sentenced Zahir Jaffer – the main accused in brutal murder of Noor Mukadam – to death, while his employees, Muhammad Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad – the co-accused in the case – were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In a packed court room, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Ata Rabbani, while announcing the verdict, which the court had reserved a day ago following months of hearings, also found Zahir Jaffer guilty of rape and handed him 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000.
However, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamji – the parents of Zahir Jaffer – and all other suspects including Therapy Works employees were acquitted.
The co-accused, Muhammad Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad, who were working at Zahir’s home as watchman and gardener, respectively, were punished for aiding in the abetment of crime. Another employee, Jameel (chef) was acquitted by the court.
Shortly after the verdict was out, Noor’s father Shaukat Mukadam said a favourable court decision was critical. He said he has repeatedly said that this case was not only about his daughter, but was a question of all the daughters of Pakistan.
Shaukat said that he was expecting a favourable decision and that he is glad that the court took the right decision. However, he denied commenting on the suspects who have been acquitted.
Noor’s father said that he was not contacted by anybody regarding a patch up and even if somebody contacts him now, he will not agree to it.
Replying to a question regarding media trials and support from society, he said that the world was standing with them and his family did not need to put in much effort to highlight Noor’s case.
Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman, was murdered on July 20 within the limits of the Kohsar police station in Islamabad’s F-7/4 area. The Islamabad police had arrested Zahir on the night of July 20 from his house where, according to Noor’s parents, he had killed her with a sharp instrument and severed her head.
Zahir was formally charged for the crime by the court in October 2021.
Five days after the brutal murder, the police had arrested Zahir Jaffer’s parents Zakir Jaffer, Asmat Adamjee, and other accused in the case on the charges of hiding evidence and aiding in the abetment of the crime on July 25 last year.
Later, CCTV footage of the incident surfaced which shows Mukadam jumping from the first floor of the house and making fleeing attempts in injured condition to save her life.
In the video, Jaffer can be seen manhandling Mukadam. During the entire horrible episode, none of his employees tried to stop the accused or to save the life of the hostage girl.
The formal trial of the case began on October 20, 2021, and the court decided the case after 25 hearings.
Since his first appearance, the main accused, Zahir Jaffer, had been violating the decorum of the court.
He kept doing strange activities in the courtroom to prove himself as a mental patient, so as he could escape from the punishment in the murder case.
Despite all his tricks, the police used to bring the accused in the courtroom sometimes on stretcher or wheelchair.
Meanwhile, the accused’s counsel filed a plea seeking his client’s medical check-up but the court rejected his plea.
However, a medical team of the jail had declared him physically and mentally fit.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz also reacted to the court’s decision in the case.
Taking to Twitter, Chaudhary lauded the police and the prosecution for leading the case to a fair conclusion.
“This is the justice that the Pakistani people expect [...] hope that the institutions affiliated with law and justice will meet their expectations and the rule of law will prevail,” he tweeted.
“The wounds Noor Mukadam’s rape and murder inflicted on the collective conscience of humanity may never heal but it is reassuring that beasts in human disguise will realise that consequences can be grave,” Maryam tweeted.
She said that Zahir’s crimes were not only confined to rape and murder but also to the fact that he used his money and influence to assail the credibility of the victim.
“This perhaps is the only crime where the victim becomes the accused,” she added.
Speaking to journalists, ahead of the verdict’s announcement, Shaukat Mukadam had said that everyone is hopeful that Noor will get justice.
“The murderer and his accomplices will get punishment and rule of law will prevail”, he said, adding, “I pray that the decision of Noor Mukadam murder case is based on justice”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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