Pakistan: Zahir Jaffer gets double death sentence in Noor Mukadam murder case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday maintained the death sentence of accused Zahir Jaffar in the Noor Mukadam murder case, upholding the trial court's decision. The judges also overturned the 25-year jail term of accused Zahir Jaffar into the death penalty.

The high court rejected Zahir's plea along with the pleas of his household staff, Mohammad Iftikhar and Mohammad Jan — both co-accused in the case — who had challenged the trial court's verdict. A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the verdict, which was reserved on December 21.

The court's decision for the double death sentence came following Jaffer's crime of 27-year-old Noor's murder and rape. He received a 25-year imprisonment sentence with hard labour and a fine of Rs0.2 million after the rape was proven.

A Pakistani court on February 2022 sentenced the US national of Pakistani origin, Zahir Jaffer, to death for raping and beheading Noor Mukadam, a daughter of a former diplomat.

The crime had sparked outrage across the South Asian nation, and the gruesome murder dominated headlines ever since.

A sessions court in Pakistan's capital Islamabad sentenced Zahir to death for the murder.

The maximum sentence was 'necessary', the victim's father said after the sentencing. "I have been saying that this is not just my daughter's case; it is a case for all the daughters of my country," he said.

• UAE: Friends, colleagues pay tribute to murdered Pakistani expat Sarah Inam