A divisional bench of Islamabad High Court upheld the death sentence handed to Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukaddam murder case.

The bench also changed his sentence over allegations of rape from 25 years imprisonment to death. The judgement, reserved on December 21, was given by Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ijaz Ishaq Khan.

Noor had been found dead on July 20, 2021 in Islamabad. Zahir Jaffer was arrested from the scene and sentenced to death by a sessions court for murder in February 2022.

Zahir Jaffer’s lawyer had pleaded that he was not ‘mentally stable’ and could not be held responsible for his actions. However, a medical board had found him to be satisfactorily healthy. He had appealed against the verdict in March 2022.

Two accomplices of Jaffer, watchman Muhammad Iftikhar and gardner Jan Muhammad, also lost appeals to overturn the sentence for 10-year imprisonment.

Jaffer’s mother, Asmat Adamjee, and father, Zakir Jaffer, has already been cleared of all charges by the sessions court. Employees of the organisation Therapy Works, where Jaffer worked have also been cleared.

Thebrutality of Noor’s murder had sparked outrage across the country and the judgement came after a long legal battle pursued by Noor’s father,Shaukat Mukadam.