The death penalty granted to Zahir Jaffar by the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam in 2021 has been confirmed by the Supreme Court. The court has reiterated that the murderer must pay the crime with his life. It is undoubtedly a serious sentence: this document, in principle, opposes capital punishment.
The judges must be taken into account, the death sentence was commuteed for the positions of life imprisonment and the sentence of kidnapping of 10 years to one. However, when it was the assassination position, it seems that he felt it was necessary to match the severity of the crime with the seriousness of the punishment. Many supporters expect the verdict to bring a closure to the Mukadam family after his long evidence to ensure justice for his murdered daughter.
The brutal murder of Noor had taken the Pakistani public from his dream to take note of misogyny and domestic violence prevailing in society. The case had been closely followed. The evidence, the stories of eyewitnesses and the sequence of events united by the media of the police reports had painted a deeply disturbing image of Jaffar and the tragic circumstances that surrounded the disappearance of Noor.
It was evident that his death was the result not only of the malevolence of a person, but also of a preventable tragedy caused by several people who did not do the right thing at the right time. These people seem to have been very aware that a woman was being retained against her will and was probably under violence, but ignored her difficult situation. It is unfortunate that his role in the murder will never face enough scrutiny; It would have helped establish that violence against women can be perpetrated by individuals, but society enables it.
In a related note, it is also disappointing that the superior judiciary took so long giving the verdict. He should have taken the matter with the urgency he demanded.
Posted in Dawn, May 22, 2025
