ISLAMABAD: Justice Hashim Kakar of the Supreme Court on Monday remarked that Noor Mukadam was “brutally murdered” as a three-member bench resumed hearing Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against his death sentence in the high-profile case. The bench also included Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi.
Justice Kakar emphasized the need for courts to hear appeals promptly and not let convicts remain on death row for years. Justice Najafi observed that parties in such cases are fully aware of the facts, while Justice Ibrahim noted that hearing such cases amounts to a “trial of the judges”.
During proceedings, defence lawyer Salman Safdar submitted Jaffer’s medical history dating back to 2013 and argued that the death sentence was awarded for murder, life for rape, and 10 years for kidnapping. He added that the Islamabad High Court later converted the life sentence to death, stating the trial court had not sufficiently justified the lesser punishment.
Safdar argued that the initial FIR only included murder charges, while rape and kidnapping were added nearly three weeks later. He pointed out the lack of forensic evidence from Jaffer’s residence and raised questions about the post-mortem timeline.
He said the prosecution relied on CCTV footage and conducted a photogrammetric test on Jaffer. Referring to judicial precedents, he cited Judge Arshad Malik’s video verdict and a ruling by former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa on audio-video evidence authentication.
Justice Kakar acknowledged that the court had relied on the Khosa ruling. When Safdar said that all witnesses, except complainant Shaukat Mukadam, were state witnesses, Justice Kakar observed that the evidence in the case appeared circumstantial.
He further stated that the murder occurred in the presence of six to seven people. The complainant’s counsel added that some employees of Therapy Clinic had been nominated for allegedly concealing facts related to the incident.
The court adjourned the hearing until Tuesday morning.
