ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision today on Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict, which upheld his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Hashim Kakar and including Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, resumed hearing the case earlier today.
During the hearing, Jaffer’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, argued that the trial court sentenced his client to death for murder, life imprisonment for rape, and 10 years in jail for abduction. However, the IHC later increased the rape sentence to the death penalty, stating that the trial court had failed to justify giving a lesser punishment for such a serious crime.
He also raised concerns over the police investigation. According to Safdar, the initial FIR only mentioned murder, while rape and abduction charges were added 22 days after the incident. He pointed out that although the crime scene was Zahir’s home, the police failed to present solid physical evidence from the location.
The lawyer further questioned the timeline of events. He claimed that the FIR was registered at 11:30pm, the postmortem was conducted the next morning at 9:30am, and the medical report declared Noor’s time of death as 12:10am. He added that a man named Amjad, who was injured, was wrongly made an accused instead of a witness.
Justice Hashim Kakar noted that there were no eyewitnesses to the crime and that the case relied on circumstantial evidence. He assured that the court would grant relief if justified, but if not, it would issue a firm decision. The hearing was paused for a break, with the verdict possibly coming after a scheduled case at 11:30am.
This high-profile case has attracted nationwide attention, and the Supreme Court’s decision could mark a significant moment in Pakistan’s legal history regarding justice for victims of gender-based violence.