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’
Pakistan, global crypto exchange discuss modernizing digital payments, creating job prospects
- Pakistani officials, Binance team discuss coordination between Islamabad, local banks and global exchanges
- Pakistan has attempted to tap into growing crypto market to curb illicit transactions, improve oversight
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance officials and the team of a global cryptocurrency exchange on Friday held discussions aimed at modernizing the country’s digital payments system and building local talent pipelines to meet rising demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, the finance ministry said.
The development took place during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib, domestic bank presidents and a Binance team led by Global CEO Richard Teng. The meeting was held to advance work on Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, a regulatory setup to govern Pakistan’s digital assets.
Pakistan has been moving to regulate its fast-growing crypto and digital assets market by bringing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under a formal licensing regime. Officials say the push is aimed at curbing illicit transactions, improving oversight, and encouraging innovation in blockchain-based financial services.
“Participants reviewed opportunities to modernize Pakistan’s digital payments landscape, noting that blockchain-based systems could significantly reduce costs from the country’s $38 billion annual remittance flows,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Discussions also emphasized building local talent pipelines to meet rising global demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, creating high-value employment prospects for Pakistani youth.”
Blockchain is a type of digital database that is shared, transparent and tamper-resistant. Instead of being stored on one computer, the data is kept on a distributed network of computers, making it very hard to alter or hack.
Web3 refers to the next generation of the Internet built using blockchain, focusing on giving users more control over their data, identity and digital assets rather than big tech companies controlling it.
Participants of the meeting also discussed sovereign debt tokenization, which is the process of converting a country’s debt such as government bonds, into digital tokens on a blockchain, the ministry said.
Aurangzeb called for close coordination between the government, domestic banks and global exchanges to modernize Pakistan’s payment landscape.
Participants of the meeting also discussed considering a “time-bound amnesty” to encourage users to move assets onto regulated platforms, stressing the need for stronger verifications and a risk-mitigation system.
Pakistan has attempted in recent months to tap into the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
In September, Islamabad invited international crypto exchanges and other VASPs to apply for licenses to operate in the country, a step aimed at formalizing and regulating its fast-growing digital market.
