ISLAMABAD: A sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death for the grisly July murder of Noor Mukadam, bringing to a close a saga that has gripped the nation and a trial that was one of the most-closely watched in recent Pakistani history.
In a courtroom packed with journalists, lawyers and private citizens, and guarded by dozens of policemen, the court also sentenced Jaffer to 25 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs200,000 for rape, ten years in jail with a Rs100,000 fine for abduction and a one-year jail term for keeping Mukadam in illegal confinement.
Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood in July last year in a murder that sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The key suspect in the case, Zahir Jaffer, a childhood friend of the victim and a US national of Pakistan origin, was arrested from the crime scene, his residence, on the day of the murder. He was indicted last October.
Others charged in the case included Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, their three household staff, Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six employees of Therapy Works, a counselling center from where Jaffer had received certification as a therapist and where he had been receiving treatment in the weeks leading up to the murder. A team from the counselling center was at the crime scene when police arrived on July 20, having been summoned by Jaffer’s parents who were out of town. The charges against Jaffer's parents and the counselling team ranged from evidence tampering to abetment.
The trial for the case, which began in October, was conducted at Islamabad’s district court, and heard by additional sessions judge Atta Rabbani.
On Thursday, the judge announced the death sentence for Jaffer and ten years in jail each for two members of his household staff, Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad. All others, including the parents and Therapy Works employees, were acquitted.
“He [Zahir Jaffer] be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” the judge wrote in a 61-page detailed judgment, which also directed the convict to pay Rs500,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased woman.
Mukadam’s father Shaukat Mukadam hailed the court's verdict and thanked the media for keeping the matter “alive.”
“He [Jaffer] is given the death sentence and we are satisfied with that,” Shaukat told Arab News shortly after the verdict was announced. “It was a very hard and painful, long and painful process.”
He added that he would consult his lawyers on how to legally pursue the acquittal of Jaffer’s parents and others.
While the court acknowledged the prosecution had proved the case against Zahir Jaffer by providing sufficient scientific and forensic evidence, it said it was not clear that his parents were also aware of his intention to kill Mukadam.
It added there was no transcript of a conversation or an exchange of text message between Jaffer and his parents to implicate the latter in the case.
Advocate Shah Khawar, who pleaded Mukadam’s case in court, said “maximum punishment” had been awarded to the key suspect: “We are very much satisfied with this decision.”
“What we believe is that today justice [has been awarded] to the soul of Noor Mukadam,” the lawyer said. “Her parents and relatives and every member of the society who was following this case, they are satisfied that justice has been done.”
The lengthy trial saw many twists and turns, as Jaffer’s lawyers used difference legal arguments to fight his case.
They initially argued that he was not mentally fit to stand trial and asked the court to form a commission to ascertain if he was mentally stable. Jail doctors filed a detailed report in the court, declaring Jaffer physically and mentally fit to stand trial. He never challenged the report.
The court rejected the mental health plea, which was filed after Jaffer was expelled from the court at least twice for disrupting trial hearings in which witnesses were being cross-examined.
On one occasion, police officers had to carry Jaffer out of the courtroom building after he used indecent language and misbehaved with the judge. Islamabad police later also registered a criminal case against Jaffer for using “abusive language” and attempting suicide on the court premises.
At another hearing, police officials carried Jaffer into the courtroom on a wheelchair and once on a stretcher.
"This is the justice that the people of Pakistan expect," information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Twitter. "Hopefully the institutions associated with justice will meet the expectations of the people and rule of law will come into force."
Pakistan’s law minister Barrister Farogh Naseem also maintained the Noor Mukadam case had reached its “logical conclusion.”
“We welcome the decision in the case and thank the Islamabad Police, prosecution service and the prosecutor for presenting the evidence and arguments of the case in the best possible way," he added.
Naseem said the court’s verdict would further strengthen the justice system in the country while pointing out that it also served the government’s priority to ensure severe punishments for those who violate the rights of women and children in Pakistan.
