The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer for the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam, while reducing some other charges related to the case.

In a significant ruling on the high-profile Noor Mukadam murder case, the Supreme Court on Monday announced its decision on Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against the death sentence. Justice Hashim Kakar delivered a brief but crucial verdict, affirming that the death sentence awarded to Jaffer under murder charges will remain in place.

While maintaining the primary conviction, the apex court made several adjustments in related charges:

• The death sentence in the rape charge has been commuted to life imprisonment.
• The 10-year sentence in the abduction charge has been reduced to one year.
• The compensation order for Noor Mukadam’s family has also been upheld.

Accomplices receive partial relief

The court has also shown leniency towards Zahir Jaffer’s domestic staff:

• The sentences of gardener Jan Muhammad and watchman Iftikhar have been reduced.
• The court ruled that the time already served by them is sufficient.

Justice Hashim Kakar’s remarks

Justice Hashim Kakar has made key remarks on live-in relationships during the proceedings of the Noor Mukadam case in the Supreme Court.**

During the proceedings on Tuesday, Justice Kakar asserted that there is no necessity to debate established facts, emphasizing that it is well-established that the accused and the victim cohabited.

He pointed out that their relationship mirrored those commonly seen in Europe, which is atypical in the local context.

Justice Kakar described such relationships between a female and a male living together as badbakhti (misfortune) for the community and contrary to both religion and ethics.

The accused’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, stated that the court could not consider the CCTV footage recovered from the crime scene as evidence.

He pointed out that an attempt was made to play the footage in the Islamabad High Court, but it failed to run, and the video that was shown came from a USB provided by the lawyer.

Justice Kakar remarked that even in the absence of CCTV footage, the discovery of Noor’s body at the accused’s residence would be sufficient evidence.

The lawyer stated that both the watchman and gardener had been sentenced to ten years in prison, with the only allegation against them being that they prevented the victim from leaving.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi inquired about the recovery of Noor Mukadam’s mobile phone.

Advocate Shah Khawar was present, responded that while call records were available, the mobile phone itself had not been taken into custody.

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Case background

Noor Mukadam, 27, was discovered murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. An FIR was filed the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was apprehended at the crime scene.

In February 2022, a district and sessions judge sentenced Jaffer to death for the murder and imposed an additional 25 years of rigorous imprisonment after finding him guilty of rape.

In 2023, a divisional bench of the Islamabad High Court upheld the death sentence issued to Zahir Jaffer.

On May 19, 2025, lawyer Salman Safdar informed the court that a complete medical history of the accused, covering the period from 2013 to the present, had been submitted.