Islamabad high court issues notice to Shaukat Mukadam

The Islamabad High Court has issued notices to former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam and the prosecution in the Noor Mukadam murder case.

On Wednesday, Justice Amir Farooq issued the orders on the petition of Jan Muhammad, one of the convicts and key accused Zahir Jaffer’s gardener. He has requested that the 10-year sentence awarded to him by the sessions court be quashed.

On March 1, Jan, in his application, said that he was falsely implicated in the case. His lawyer, Advocate Kamran Murtaza, said Jan was employed at the PM Secretariat and was hired by Zahir on part-time basis.

“There is no evidence of my client’s involvement. His punishment should be quashed,” the counsel pleaded.

During the proceedings on Wednesday, Justice Farooq adjourned the hearing indefinitely.

Noor Mukadam murder case

The verdict in one of Pakistan’s most high-profile cases was announced last month. Noor Mukadam, 27, was raped and butchered on July 20, 2021 by Zahir Jaffer. The case trial began in October and included a number of twists and turns.

On February 24, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Zahir to death, while two of his employees, Jan Muhammad and Muhamma Iftikhar, were sent to jail for 10 years.

In a detailed verdict, it said that the Jan and Iftikhar “abetted and facilitated the accused Zahir Zakir [Jaffer] when he abducted Mst. Noor Muqadam (deceased), they concealed the factum of abduction and not informed the police, they have concealed the design of abduction.”

Jan Mohammad and Muhammad Iftikhar were convicted on four counts and awarded various jail sentences that will run concurrently. Hence, they face a total of ten years in jail.

They were handed seven years in prison for “concealing design to commit offence”. They have to pay Rs100,000 as fine, each.

The court also found them guilty under Section 364 of the Pakistan Penal Code as well. It says “whoever kidnaps or abducts a person in order that such person may be murdered or may be so disposed of as to be put in danger of being murdered, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years”. A fine of Rs100,000 has been imposed.

Both Jan and Iftikhar were further convicted for concealing Noor’s kidnapping and keeping her in confinement (10 years in jail with Rs100,000 fine). They thwarted the victim’s multiple attempts to escape from the crime scene.