After years of courtroom battles, Pakistan’s most high-profile murder case has reached what may be its final legal chapter and the ending is not what Zahir Jaffer’s defence team hoped for.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a review petition filed by Zahir Jaffer and upheld its earlier ruling maintaining his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case.
In a moment that gripped the courtroom, Jaffer’s senior lawyer, Khawaja Haris, openly admitted that his client committed the murder, saying: “I will not say at all that my client did not commit the murder.” Instead, the defence built its final argument around mental illness. Khawaja Haris argued that Jaffer was not mentally sound at the time of the incident, claiming he had been receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. The bench pressed the defence to produce clear medical evidence, including when treatment began, who treated him, and detailed records, but the court was not satisfied. The Supreme Court also rejected the plea to constitute a medical board to assess Zahir’s mental health.
During the hearing, the defence lawyer also acknowledged the brutal nature of the crime and apologised to Noor Mukadam’s family.
A presidential pardon under Article 45 of Pakistan’s Constitution now remains the only legal option left for Jaffer.
Noor Mukadam, 27, and the daughter of a former diplomat, was tortured and beheaded at Jaffer’s Islamabad residence in July 2021, a crime that shocked the entire nation. Her family has fought for justice through every court in the country, and today, the highest court stood firmly on their side.
