ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court sentenced to death the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families on Thursday for raping and beheading a 27-year-old woman, bringing to a close a saga that has gripped the South Asian nation.
Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, 30, attacked Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad home in July last year. The murder sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women in Pakistan.
In a courtroom packed with journalists, lawyers and private citizens, and guarded by dozens of policemen, Jaffer, a childhood friend of the victim, was also sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for rape, 10 years in jail for abduction, and given a one-year jail term for keeping Mukadam in illegal confinement.
Jaffer had raped Mudakam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, and tortured her with a knuckle duster before beheading her.
He was arrested at his home on the day of the murder and indicted last October.
Others charged in the case included Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, three members of their household staff, named as Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six employees of Therapy Works, a counseling 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.
On Thursday, the judge handed down the death sentence for Jaffer and 10 years in jail for both Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad. All others were acquitted.
“He (Zahir Jaffer) will be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” the judge wrote in a short order.
Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, hailed the court’s verdict and thanked the media for keeping the case 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 Jaffer’s parents and others acquitted of charges.
The trial was one of the most closely-watched in recent Pakistani history.
Hundreds of women are killed in Pakistan every year, with thousands more suffering brutal violence across the country. But few cases receive sustained media attention, and only a small fraction of perpetrators are ever punished.
The shocking murder, involving members of the privileged elite of Pakistani society, triggered an explosive reaction from women’s rights activists reckoning with pervasive violence. It also increased pressure for a swift conclusion of the trial, in a country known to have a sluggish justice system, where cases typically drag on for years.
Advocate Shah Khawar, who pleaded Mukadam’s case in court, said “maximum punishment” had been awarded to the key suspect, adding: “We are very much satisfied with this decision.
“What we believe is that today justice (has been awarded) to the soul of Noor Mukadam. Her parents and relatives and every member of the society who was following this case, they are satisfied that justice has been done.”
