Pakistani American man sentenced to death for raping, beheading girlfriend
By Yaron Steinbuch
New York Post
February 25, 2022
Investigators said Jaffer lured Mukadam to his home, where he held her for two days and then brutally murdered her
The Pakistani American son of a wealthy industrialist has been sentenced to death for raping and beheading his girlfriend after she rejected his marriage proposal at his Islamabad home last year.
Zahir Jaffer, 30, sexually assaulted Noor Mukadam, 27, in July, tortured her with brass knuckles and used a “sharp-edged weapon” to behead her when she turned him down.
Jaffer initially claimed he couldn’t be put on trial in Pakistan because he is an American citizen
Mukadam, the daughter of a former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, had made repeated attempts to escape Jaffer’s sprawling mansion but was blocked by two members of his staff.
Shuakat Mukadam, a former
ambassador and father of the murdered Pakistani girl Noor Mukadam,
speaks to the members of the media as he leaves a court after the case
verdict in Islamabad, Pakistan, 24 February 2022
“The main accused has been awarded the death sentence,” Judge Atta Rabbani said at the Islamabad district court on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, were found not guilty of trying to cover up the crime, which sparked an outcry over the brutalizing of women in the deeply patriarchal country.
The two staff members were sentenced to 10 years in the slammer for abetting murder.
“I am happy that justice has been served,” said Noor’s dad, Shuakat Mukadam, who pledged to challenge the acquittal of the killer’s parents.
“I’ve been saying that this is not just my daughter’s case, it is a case for all the daughters of my country,” he said, according to Reuters.
Investigators said Jaffer lured Mukadam to his home, where he held her for two days and then brutally murdered her.
Prosecutors said Mukadam jumped out a window at Jaffar’s home when he refused to accept her rejection, CBS News reported.
Jaffer ordered a security guard and a cook to capture her before he killed her, the prosecutors reportedly said.
According to the court verdict, Jaffer will be “hanged by his neck until he is dead” — but he also was given a concurrent sentence of 25 years behind bars for abduction and rape.
Jaffer, who was frequently carried into proceedings by stretcher or wheelchair, was thrown out of court several times for unruly behavior, according to AFP. At one point, he also claimed someone else had killed Mukadam during a “drug party” at his home.
The conviction rate in cases of violence against women in Pakistan is lower than 3 percent, according to AFP
His lawyers argued he should be found not “mentally sound” — a tactic prosecutors argue was designed to have the explosive trial suspended.
When Jaffer’s lawyer questioned Mukadam’s father, he implied she was killed by her own family for conducting a relationship outside of marriage.
Jaffer initially claimed he couldn’t be put on trial in Pakistan because he is an American citizen — but the US Embassy in Islamabad said it had no involvement in criminal cases against its citizens overseas other than to provide information on legal counsel, check that they are not mistreated and offer to contact relatives, according to CBS News.
Hundreds of women are killed in Pakistan every year and thousands more are victims of brutal violence, but few cases get widespread media attention and only a small fraction of suspects are ever punished.
The Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, a group that provides legal assistance to vulnerable women, said the conviction rate for cases of violence against them is lower than 3 percent, AFP reported.
“Convictions have been dismally low for victims … making today’s guilty verdict all the more significant,” said Amnesty International South Asia campaigner Rimmel Mohydin.
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