The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case until May 19, following agreement from both the prosecution and the defense.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Hashim Kakar and including Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, conducted the hearing of the high-profile case.
Defense counsel Salman Safdar and prosecution lawyer Shah Khawar were present in court during the proceedings.
Safdar requested a postponement, citing the need to submit further documentation. However, Justice Kakar expressed his dissatisfaction with the delays, stating: “Why should we grant an adjournment if you are already present in court?”
The judge further criticized unnecessary delays within the judicial system, remarking: “In our court, a case is only delayed if the judge or a lawyer passes away.” He questioned the implications of overturning a sentence after an individual has spent 20 years on death row, asking what a freed convict might think in such a scenario.
“Our fault lies in accommodating unnecessary adjournments — not the system’s,” Justice Kakar sharply noted. “If a convicted person appears before us after being acquitted, they might as well throw the file in our faces,” he added.
Despite the defense counsel’s request, the court maintained that a decision would be made once the application was submitted. Justice Najafi also intervened, advising Khawar to formally respond only after the request had been officially filed.
The hearing was adjourned until May 19, with instructions for both legal teams to be fully prepared.
Background of the Case
Noor, aged 27, was found dead in a private residence located in Sector F-7/4, Islamabad, on July 20, 2021. Zahir Jaffer, the primary suspect, was apprehended at the crime scene, and a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by the victim’s father later that same day.
According to the initial FIR, Noor’s father reported that she had been “beheaded after being murdered with a sharp weapon” in a brutal act that shocked the entire nation.
In February 2022, a district and sessions court sentenced Jaffer to death, along with a 25-year rigorous imprisonment term and a fine of Rs200,000, concluding the trial that spanned over four months.
In addition to the main accused, two members of his household staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, each received 10-year prison sentences, while other co-accused individuals — including Jaffer’s parents and several employees of TherapyWorks — were acquitted.
In March 2023, the Islamabad High Court upheld Jaffer’s death sentence and increased his 25-year sentence to an additional death penalty, based on appeals filed against the punishment given to the convicted individuals.
Subsequently, an appeal challenging the IHC verdict was filed in the Supreme Court in April of the previous year.
Shaukat Mukadam, a former diplomat, had previously held a press conference on Noor’s birth anniversary, urging the apex court to expedite the proceedings in the case, which has remained pending for more than 18 months.
