ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani state has sought capital punishment for Zahir Jaffer who raped and beheaded a 27-year-old woman Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad residence in July last year while demanding enhancement of sentences for others involved in the case in an appeal filed in a local court.
The office of Advocate General Islamabad on Wednesday filed the appeal in Islamabad High Court against the verdict announced in the case by a district court in February this year. The 30-year-old Pakistani-American, Jaffer was given death sentence for killing Mukadam along with 25-year imprisonment for rape, 10-year jail term for abduction and one-year prison time for keeping the victim in illegal confinement.
Others charged in the case included Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, three members of their household staff, 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. The court also announced 10-year prison sentence for both Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad while all others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The state has now appealed the high court to enhance Jaffer’s punishment from 25 years imprisonment in rape to capital punishment, increase sentences of Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad and reverse the acquittal of Jaffer’s parents and Therapy Works employees.
“Jaffer was proven guilty of raping Noor Mukadam through forensic reports and he himself admitted it too in the court. Therefore, we are appealing the high court to award him death sentence on this charge too,” advocate Zohaib Gondal, a law officer at the Advocate General Islamabad office, told Arab News on Thursday.
He said the state had also appealed the court to enhance sentences of Iftikhar and Mohammad since they were also found guilty of involvement in the murder.
“We have challenged acquittal of Jaffer’s parents and Therapy Works employees on the basis of substantial evidence,” he added.
Gondal said the state would produce mobile phone and call record data in the high court to prove the involvement of Jaffer’s parents in the murder.
“The CCTV footage showing the presence of Therapy Works employees on the crime scene is a crucial piece of evidence that proves their involvement in the case,” he continued.
The prosecution proved during the court proceedings that Jaffer had raped Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, and tortured her with a knuckle duster before beheading her.
He was arrested at his residence on the day of the murder and indicted last October.
The victim’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, has already filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court against the acquittal of nine people accused in the case.
The court will start hearing the case on April 27.
Pakistani state seeks stricter sentence for Zahir Jaffer, others in Noor Mukadam murder case
https://arab.news/bdh5v
Pakistani state seeks stricter sentence for Zahir Jaffer, others in Noor Mukadam murder case
- Mukadam was raped and beheaded by Zahir Jaffer at his Islamabad residence in July last year
- The state has challenged the acquittal of Jaffer’s parents on the basis of ‘substantial evidence’
In Peshawar, 76-year-old artist struggles to keep near-extinct Mughal wax art alive
- Craft involves intricate process using heated wax, oil, pigments, limestone to create textured, miniature artworks
- Riaz Ahmad, who has trained his son in wax art, says he hopes to train more people to preserve traditional craft
PESHAWAR: Riaz Ahmad, 76, stirs wax in a small plastic can with a long chopstick, takes it out on the palm of his left hand and adds natural color before drawing designs on a piece of cloth.
Surrounded by several such pieces of black cloth with unique art, Ahmad strives every passing day to keep the 500-year-old, Mughal-era wax art alive at his home near the Lahori Gate in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Ahmad comes from a well-known family of wax artists who were based in Shillong and Darjeeling in present-day India and had migrated to Peshawar during the 1947 partition of the sub-continent.
His work remains rooted in tradition, faithfully repeating patterns passed down through generations and winning Ahmad several awards both at home and abroad in recognition of his dedication.
“I have been making the same Mughal era designs that my forefathers used to make,” he told Arab News last week.
“I went to India in 2004, where I received the UNESCO Seal of Excellence [for Handicrafts] award... On 23 March, 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded me the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.”
The near-extinct traditional craft, which is believed to have originated in Central Asia and refined under the Mughal patronage, particularly in Peshawar, involves an intricate process using heated wax, linseed oil, powdered pigments, and limestone to create detailed, textured and often colorful miniature artworks by hand.
Ahmad learnt wax art from his father, Miran Bakhsh, nearly six decades ago.
“My parents used to do this work in Shillong and Darjeeling [in present-day India]. They had a shop there, and after the Partition, they migrated to Peshawar, Pakistan,” he said. “When they came here, they started doing the same work.”
A basic piece of his work costs around Rs3,000 ($10.7). A larger piece made on order can fetch between Rs5,000 and Rs15,000 ($17-$53), but such orders are rare.
“Wax and colors have become expensive. When I sell a piece for Rs3,000, around Rs1,000 goes into expenses, and Rs2,000 is my daily wage,” Ahmad said.
But the 76-year-old worries more about the future of the art form, which he insists cannot be learned quickly and requires “love and dedication.”
“Some people say they want to come, some from Karachi and some from Lahore, but it becomes difficult for me to go there or for them to come here,” he said.
Most wax artists in Peshawar have abandoned the art due to a lack of institutional support, according to Ahmad, who relies primarily on exhibitions to earn a living.
“The reason [for the decline of this art form] is that the government does not pay attention. They are caught in their own conflicts, and the culture is suffering,” Ahmad said.
“Other artists have left this art. Some are selling rice and some are driving rickshaws,” he added. “I have been doing this work inside my house. If there is any event, we go there and sell our art.”
Saad Bin Awais, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA), said the government has engaged artisans in several projects. He said some of these projects have come to an end while others are ongoing.
“Riaz Ahmad is the only wax artist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the authority is serious about facilitating him,” he said, adding that the KPCTA facilitates Ahmad’s participation in exhibitions across the country to showcase his art.
“We have also been collecting data of artists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for an upcoming project to facilitate them in any way possible.”
Ahmad has trained his son, Fayyaz, in wax art who now practices it in Islamabad. The septuagenarian says he wishes to train more people to preserve the dying art form.
“I cannot leave this work,” he said. “I will continue this art even though my hands shake.”
