District and Sessions Court Islamabad has sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death in a case related to the senseless murder of Noor Muqaddam, daughter of former Pakistani ambassador.
Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani had reserved the verdict two days ago after a four-month trial, which was announced today.
Lawyers, employees of therapy works, mother of the main accused Ismat Adam, father Zakir Jaffer and plaintiff Shaukat Muqadam were present in the court room at the time of pronouncement of the verdict.
Details of the decision
The court in a short verdict sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code in connection with the premeditated murder and ordered to pay Rs 500,000 compensation to Noor Muqaddam's heirs.
According to the verdict, the death sentence of the accused will be upheld by the Islamabad High Court.
In addition, the accused under section 364 (kidnapping for murder) was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. A fine of Rs 1 lakh was also imposed.
In addition, co-accused Jan Mohammad (Baghban) and Iftikhar (Chowkidar) were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and fined Rs.
However, the court acquitted all the employees including Tahir Zahoor, owner of the therapy works, Ismat Adam and Zakir Jaffer, parents of the main accused.
The victim's father expressed satisfaction over the decision
After the verdict, the victim's father Shaukat Muqadam while talking to the media appreciated the verdict of the court and thanked the media for keeping the matter 'alive'.
He declined to comment on the acquittal of the other accused, saying he would consult his lawyers.
He termed the verdict as a victory of court and justice and said that the main accused has been given exemplary sentence.
Shaukat Muqaddam said, "Everyone was praying for (justice) and the whole nation and the world was with us."
Noor Muqaddam murder case
Noor, 27, was killed on July 20, 2021 in a house in the capital's Posh area, Sector F-7/4. On the same day, a case was registered against Zahir Jaffar and he was arrested on the spot.
The case was registered on the complaint of the victim's father under Section 302 (Planned Murder) of Pakistan Penal Code.
The court had on October 14 indicted 11 other people named in the case, including Zahir.
The accused included Zahir Jaffer's parents, his three employees Iftikhar (janitor), Jan Muhammad (gardener) and Jamil (butler), Tahir Zahoor, CEO of Therapy Works and employees Amjad, Dilip Kumar, Abdul Haq, Wameq and Samar Abbas.
The formal trial of the murder case started on October 20 and the trial lasted for 4 months and 8 days during which the statements of 19 accused were recorded.
Meanwhile, Zahir Jaffer also tried to prove himself mentally ill, but in a medical test, he was declared fit.
Case challan
The police challan presented in the court in connection with the case said that due to the connivance of the accomplices of the main accused Zahir Jaffer, Noor Muqadam made six attempts to save his life which failed.
According to the challan, on the day of the incident, on July 20, Zahir Jaffar contacted his father in Karachi four times by phone and his father was also aware of the situation in the house and illegal detention.
The challan said that the two had an argument on July 20 over Noor's apparent refusal to marry, after which the alleged killer locked them in a room. The challan quoted the accused's statement in which he He confessed to the murder.
The accused said that Noor Muqaddam had rejected her marriage proposal on which he locked her in a room.
The victim threatened Zahir that she would go to the police and lodge a complaint against him. According to the statement, the accused informed his parents about the incident and instructed the employees not to let anyone in or let Noor out of the house.
The challan said that Noor managed to get out of the room and ran towards the main door of the house but security guard Iftikhar did not allow her to go out, this was the occasion when her life could have been saved.
Citing call data, the challan said that before killing Noor, Zahir contacted his parents at 2:21 pm, 3 pm, 6:35 pm and 7:29 pm.
On the other hand, according to the FIR registered by Shaukat Muqadam, Zahir Jaffer called and said that Noor was not with him.
However, at 10 pm on July 20, he received a call from the Kohsar police station informing him that his daughter had been killed.
"When I reached this house, I saw my daughter's mutilated body, after which I lodged a complaint with the police," he added.
Arrest and bail of the accused
An FIR was lodged against Zakir Jaffer under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's father, under which the accused was arrested.
On July 25, police also arrested the parents and domestic help of Zahir Jaffer, accused in the murder of Noor Muqaddam, on charges of concealing evidence and aiding and abetting the crime, who were later sent to jail by a court.
The owners and employees of the therapy works were also arrested in the case and the court had ordered their release on August 23.
Zahir Jaffer's parents had approached the Islamabad High Court after their bail was rejected by a local court, but on September 29, the High Court also rejected the bail application of the accused's parents.
On October 6, he had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Islamabad High Court.
Later on October 18, the Supreme Court granted bail to Ismat Bibi, mother of accused Zahir Jaffer in Noor Muqaddam murder case and ordered to submit bail bond of Rs 1 million.
