Zahir Jaffer awarded death sentence for murdering Noor Mukadam

ISLAMABAD February 24: After seven months, at last, justice was done in the murder case of Noor Mukadam, daughter of ex-Pakistan’s envoy Shaukat Mukadam, as a court in Islamabad on Thursday handed down death penalty to main accused Zahir Jaffer besides imposing Rs0.5 million in fine on him, but acquitted his both parents Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamji.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani also acquitted Zakir’s cook Jameel and Therapy Works owner Tahir Zahoor and five other employees, but announced 10-year prison terms for Jan Muhammad (the gardener) and Iftikhar (guard), co-accused in the case, besides slapping Rs0.3 million in fine on each of them.
Zahir was awarded penalties under other sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) as well: he was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined Rs0.1 million for keeping Noor in illegal confinement; 25 years in jail and fined Rs0.2 million for raping her, and one-year in jail under section 342.
As soon as the court announced capital punishment for the main accused, those present inside the courtroom shouted Allah-o-Akbar aloud while the Therapy Works staffers’ happiness knew no bounds who, with tears in their eyes, hugged each other The trial continued for four months and eight days.
A 27-year-old woman, Noor Mukadam, was murdered on July 20 within the jurisdiction of the Kohsar police station in Islamabad’s F-7 area. She was daughter of Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan Shaukat Mukadam. On Feb 22, the court had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence sides completed their arguments in the case.
The prime suspect in the murder case, Zahir Jaffer, was indicted by the Islamabad court in October 2021. Besides him, two of his family’s employees – Jamil and Jan Mohammad -, and Tahir Zahoor, the owner of a counselling and psychotherapy service named Therapy Works, and his employees were also indicted. – NNI