A US citizen has been sentenced to death for raping and beheading a diplomat’s daughter after she rejected his marriage proposal.
Zahir Jaffer, the son of one of the richest families in Pakistan, brutally killed Nur Mukadam, 27, at his home in Islamabad on July 20, 2021.
Security camera footage shows that Mukadam, the daughter of a former ambassador, made repeated attempts to escape from the sprawling mansion, but was blocked by two members of Jaffer’s team.
Zahir Jaffer (pictured leaving court on Thursday), the son of one of Pakistan’s richest families, brutally killed Nur Mukadam, 27, at his home in Islamabad on July 20, 2021.
Security camera footage shows Nur Mukadam (pictured) making repeated attempts to escape from the scattered mansion, but was blocked by staff.
The court heard that the 30-year-old Pakistani American tortured her with a finger knife, raped her and used a “sharp-bladed weapon” to decapitate her.
“The main defendant has been sentenced to death,” said Judge Ata Rabbani of the Islamabad District Court.
Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamji, were acquitted in an attempt to cover up the crime.
The two officers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for complicity in murder.
“I am happy that justice has been done,” said Shuakat Mukadam, Nur’s father, as he vowed to challenge the acquittal of Jaffer’s parents.
The case provoked an explosive response from women’s rights activists who are committed to the spread of violence against women.
The shocking nature of the killing, involving a couple of Pakistan’s privileged elites, has put pressure on the process to end quickly in a country where the judiciary is known to be slow and cases usually drag on for years.
According to Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, a group that provides legal aid to vulnerable women, the percentage of convictions for violence against them is less than three percent.
Targets of sexual and domestic violence are often afraid to speak out, and criminal complaints are often not seriously investigated.
The case provoked an explosive response from women’s rights activists who are committed to the spread of violence against women. Pictured: Women’s rights activists hold placards and candles during a protest rally against the brutal murder of Nur Mukadam, February 22
“Convictions are appallingly low for victims … which makes today’s conviction even more significant,” said Amnesty International activist in South Asia Rimmel Mohidin.
The court sentenced Jaffer to be “hanged until he died”, but he was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for kidnapping and rape.
He will also be able to challenge Thursday’s verdict.
According to local reports, Jaffer belongs to a family of high society in Pakistan, which founded a trading company in 1849 – Ahmed Jaffer and Company.
His father, Zakir, is the company’s director, according to his LinkedIn account. Jafer Asmat’s mother is reportedly a housewife.
Executions have rarely taken place in Pakistan in recent years – and are usually linked only to cases of terrorism – in part due to pressure from the European Union.
The last was in December 2019, according to Justice Project Pakistan, which makes it possible for Jaffer to serve only prison, with forgiveness for religious holidays and good behavior.
Jaffer was expelled from court several times during the disobedience trial.
He has often been transported to the proceedings on a stretcher or wheelchair, and his lawyers say he should be found not “mentally healthy” – a maneuver prosecutors said he aimed to halt the trial.
At one hearing, he claimed that someone else had killed Mukadam during a “drug party” at his house.
Shuakat Mukadam, former ambassador and father of the murdered Pakistani girl Nur Mukadam, spoke to members of the media as he left the court following the verdict in the Islamabad, Pakistan case on February 24, 2022.
When questioning Mukadam’s father, a former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, Jaffer’s lawyer hinted that she had been killed by her own family to maintain a relationship outside of marriage.
Prosecutions for violence and sexual assault often see that the personal history of the female victim has been selected according to Pakistan’s patriarchal morals – another reason why justice is rare for women.
According to a recent one report from Human Rights Watch on Pakistan, “Violence against women and girls – including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence and forced marriage – is endemic in Pakistan. Human rights activists estimate that approximately 1,000 women are killed in so-called “honor killings” each year.