“It is a loan for Noor’s family that were not coerced by the forgives of blood,” says lawyer Asad Rahim.
The Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer, convicted of brutally killing Noor Mukadam almost four years ago, in a development called “Rare Achievement” and “Victoria for Women”.
Noor, 27, was found murdered in the Residence of Islamabad de Zahir in July 2021, with the investigation revealing that she was tortured before being beheaded. Zahir received the death sentence by a court of first instance, which he had challenged in the Superior Court of Islamabad in 2023. The IHC had also confirmed the sentence.
Subsequently, he approached the Superior Court. The appeal was taken for the hearing by a three -members bank that includes Judges Hashim Kakar, Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi.
This is what lawyers said about today’s verdict.
‘Victoria Rara for Women’
The lawyer Zainab Shahid said that Zahir’s death sentence brought a sense of justice and closure to the horrible episode of violence.
“It marks a deviation from the high profile cases of violent crimes in the past, where the perpetrators were acquitted by the highest appeal forum due to errors or failures by the agencies of application of the law and state prosecutors in the stages of investigation, evidence and judgment of the case,” he said.
This prayer, Zainab continued, also served as a reminder that the members of the company considered too privileged could still be responsible before the law, despite the roads of the coercion forgives created by the DIYAT Laws.
“This verdict is a rare victory for the women of Pakistan and the protection of their lives against gender violence,” added the lawyer.
‘Justice has prevailed’
“Against all probabilities, and in a broken criminal justice system, Justice has prevailed,” said lawyer Rida Hosain. However, he pointed out that the case underlined the need for gender awareness training of judges of the Superior Court.
“During the course of the hearing, it is reported that Judge Hashim Kakar has made several insensitive comments that reflect a deeply patriarchal mentality. It is not for the judges to give lectures on morality. Nor is it that the judges pass adverse comments regarding the character and decision making of a victim. It is not the victim who is in the trial,” she said.
The lawyer referred to Judge Kakar’s comments during today’s hearing, in which he expressed his discontent for the reports that Noor and Zahir lived together. “This happens in Europe, not here,” he said, adding that a man and a woman living together outside of marriage were “unfortunate” and “against religion and morals.”
“Noor Mukadam arrived at [Zahir’s] House itself, wouldn’t that reduce the punishment for kidnapping? He wondered.
Talking with Dawn.comHosain regretted that the “archaic and dangerous ideals of the” perfect “victim still dominate our response” to cases of violence against women. “Our justice system is expected to reach a stage in which we can separate and face these dangerous stereotypes,” he added.
‘A credit for Noor’s family’
Barrimer Asad Rahim Khan described the order as a “rare achievement.”
“It is not common for rich and violent psychopaths to be taken before justice by the court of the last resort here. It is a loan to the Noor family that were not coerced by the blood pardons, by the prosecutors who marked all the evidence, and by the civil society that continued focusing the brutality without meaning of this murder.
“But for justice to be really delivered to the loved ones of Noor, prayer must be carried out,” he said.
‘The SC trial must be an omen of reforms’
The lawyer Mirza Moiz Baig described the undeniable SC order, since there were no “legal gaps” in the IHC trial, in which Zahir’s sentences had previously confirmed.
“We need to understand that as long as the SC listened to the appeals, the evidence could not have re -evaluated, but it could only have considered whether the court of first instance had read the evidence badly or if the law had applied badly in the case,” he said.
“Since this case has already gone through a round of appeal, I believe that the decision of the SC is unjustible. It reinforces the belief that there is no place for the crime against women in society. However, we consider that the trial in the case and the sentences granted were partly due to the pressure mounted by civil society and the media,” Baig said.
He added that there was a “number of Mukadams de Noor throughout the country” that continued to undergo violence in all their forms and manifestations.
“Therefore, it is important for us to address structural issues that allow violence against women. This trial must be an omen of very necessary reforms and changes in our criminal investigation and prosecution system. Otherwise, we continue listening and reading about cases like this,” added the lawyer.
‘Brutal crime that deserves the maximum punishment’
Abdul Moiz Jaferii lawyer said that Noor’s murder was a brutal crime, and deserved the maximum punishment available according to the law. That the maximum punishment was death was a separate and controversial issue in its own right.
“The defense lawyer tried to argue the mental disability by the accused, and that his mental state had not been qualified precisely. This was correctly rejected as a discussion, since the force of evidence in the trial made clear the premeditation and vitality with which the murderer planned his crime,” he said.
Referring to media reports, Jaferii declared that the bank offered certain cultural comments during the appeal with respect to Noor, its actions and its choice before the crime. “This is an unfortunate and unnecessary part of our legal criminal system.”
“It was the work of the Supreme Court today to do justice and not comment on what he considered culturally appropriate. He could have attached to do the first without pontifying in the second,” added the lawyer.
