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A sessions court in Islamabad has finally announced its verdict in the Noor Mukadam case and sentenced the prime suspect Zahir Jaffer to death for the crime.
Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman, was brutally murdered on 20th July 2021 by Zahir Jaffer. Why because she apparently refused his marriage proposal. Now, the accuser has been awarded the death penalty by a session court.
However, the concern still remains in the heart of all the Pakistanis especially among women that will such a bold step end violence against them in the society?
Noor Mukadam
Noor was found brutally murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. A first information report was registered the same day against Zahir Jaffer— who was arrested from the site of the murder.
Motive of killing
The prime suspect in the murder of Noor Mukadam, Zahir Jeffer, was formally charged for the crime by an Islamabad court in October 2021. Besides him, two of the family’s employees — Jamil and Jan Mohammad — were also indicted, along with Zahoor.
He tortured and raped Noor before slaughtering her head. He murdered the victim because she refused his proposal of marrying him.
PFSA report
According to the police, the PFSA report confirmed the following facts:
Rape was committed with Noor before she was killed; DNA has been confirmed.
Noor attempted to save her life prior to being killed and Zahir’s DNA has been recovered from her fingernails.
The shirt worn by, and recovered from, Zahir was stained with Noor Mukadam’s blood and the DNA has been verified.
Noor was killed with a swiss knife recovered from the scene, and her blood was found on the blood and handle.
She was also attacked with a “knuckle punch” recovered from the crime scene and her blood was found on it.
Verdict
During the last hearing today, a sessions court announced its verdict in the case case and sentenced Jaffer to death. The court presided by Additional Sessions judge Atta Rabbani announced the reserved verdict after the completion of arguments by the prosecution and defence earlier this week.
The trial continued for four months and eight days. Zahir’s household staff Iftikhar and Jamil were sentenced to 10 years in jail. All other suspects, including Zahir’s parents and TherapyWorks employees, were acquitted.
Noor’s father’s reaction
Noor’s father Shaukat Mukadam said a favourable court decision was critical. He said he repeatedly said that this case was not only about his daughter, but was a question of all the daughters of Pakistan.
Shaukat said that he was expecting a favourable decision and that he is glad that the court took the right decision. However, he denied commenting on the suspects who have been acquitted.
Will this end violence against women?
From domestic and intimate partner violence to sexual harassment and assault, women in Pakistan face such situations occurring in both public and private places on daily basis. They face many forms of violence, ranging from, trafficking, sexual violence, and gender-related killing.
The case of Noor Mukadam became a high-profile case because of the privileged background of both the victim and the accused. However, today’s verdict can impact predators in long term and bar the culprits from hurting women physically, sexually, and mentally.
