Noor Mukadam case: SC to hear Zahir Jaffer’s review petition on April 8

A three-member bench will review the death penalty verdict upheld by the apex court last year

The Supreme Court on Saturday fixed April 8 for hearing the review petition filed by Zahir Jaffer, who was convicted in the high-profile murder of Noor Mukadam.

According to a cause list published by the apex court, a three-member bench headed by Justice Hashim Kakar will take up the matter. Justices Salahuddin Panhwar and Ishtiaq Ibrahim are also part of the bench.

Noor Mukadam, 27, the daughter of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was murdered and beheaded in a posh locality of Islamabad in July 2021. Police had charged Zahir Jaffer, a US national and heir to the Jaffer Group of Companies, with the crime.

Read: Noor Mukadam murder case: SC upholds Zahir Jaffer’s death sentence

In February 2022, a district and sessions court convicted Jaffer of murder and sentenced him to death, along with 25 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000. His household staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while other accused, including Jaffer’s parents and employees of TherapyWorks, were acquitted.

On March 14, 2023, the Islamabad High Court upheld Jaffer’s death sentence and converted his 25-year imprisonment into another death penalty on charges of rape.

Subsequently, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Kakar, on May 20 rejected Jaffer’s appeal and upheld the death sentence in the case. In a detailed verdict issued in June the same year, the apex court maintained his conviction for murder and described him as “a ruthless killer” who was “not worthy of sympathy”.

Also Read: SC Judge blames 'live-in culture' for Noor Mukadam murder

However, while upholding the death penalty for murder, the court commuted the death sentence awarded for rape to life imprisonment. Jaffer was acquitted of the abduction charge, though his sentence for unlawful confinement was maintained.

The court also upheld the sentences of co-accused Iftikhar and Jameel but ordered their release on the grounds that they had already served sufficient time. The verdict noted that Justice Ali Baqar Najafi would add a supplementary note.