Supreme Court Justice Hashim Kakar on Monday remarked that Noor Mukadam had been “brutally murdered” as the court resumed hearing the appeal filed by Zahir Jaffer against his death sentence in the widely followed case.
The appeal was heard by a three-member bench comprising Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
Justice Kakar emphasized the need for judicial accountability, stating that judges should be willing to face pressure. “It shouldn’t be that we admit an appeal for a preliminary hearing and then delay it indefinitely. People cannot remain on death row for ten years — this will no longer be the case,” he said.
Justice Najafi commented on the transparency of the judicial system, stating, “Our system is such that both parties are fully aware of the facts.” Justice Ibrahim added that conducting such cases serves as a test for the judges themselves.
Defence counsel Salman Safdar presented Jaffer’s complete medical records, dating back to 2013, and highlighted the penalties imposed: death for murder, life imprisonment for rape, and 10 years for kidnapping.
He further argued that the Islamabad High Court had converted the life sentence for rape into a death sentence, noting that the trial court had not sufficiently justified awarding a lesser punishment.
According to Safdar, the original FIR only included murder charges, with rape and kidnapping allegations added 22 days later. He claimed the crime scene — Jaffer’s residence — was not properly examined, and no physical evidence was submitted from the location.
He provided a timeline stating the murder occurred at 10pm, the FIR was filed at 11:30pm, and a post-mortem was carried out at 9:30am the following day, determining the time of death as 12:10am.
Safdar also noted that an injured person, Amjad, was listed as a suspect instead of a witness, and the prosecution’s case heavily relied on CCTV footage. He added that a photogrammetric test was also conducted on the accused.
During the hearing, Safdar referenced the verdict in the Judge Arshad Malik video case and a ruling by former Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa regarding the authentication of audio and video evidence. Justice Kakar acknowledged that the court had taken that ruling into consideration.
When Safdar noted that all witnesses except complainant Shaukat Mukadam were state witnesses, Justice Kakar pointed out: “According to your argument, there is no direct eyewitness. All the evidence is circumstantial.”
Justice Kakar further stated that the murder took place in the presence of six to seven people. The complainant’s lawyer added that staff from Therapy Clinic had been nominated as suspects for allegedly attempting to conceal facts.
The hearing was adjourned until the following morning.
