• Three member bench hears high-profile case.
• Defense attorney is looking for more time for submissions.
• Next consultation set with full preparation directive.

Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing of Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam killing case until May 19 after consensus from both parties.

A bench with three members, led by Justice Hashim Kakar and consisting of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the high profiled case.

Defense Attorney Salman Safdar and Prosecutor Shah Khawar were present in court during the case.

Safdar requested a postponement and cited the need to submit additional documents. However, Justice Kakar expressed dissatisfaction with delays and noted, “Why should we give a postponement if you are already present in court?”

The judge further criticized unnecessary delays in the justice system and said, “In our court, a case is only delayed if the judge or a lawyer dies.” He questioned the consequences of overthrowing a verdict after someone spent 20 years at the death of the death of the death and asked what a released conviction could think in such a scenario.

“Our fault lies in entertaining unnecessary interruptions – not the system’s,” Justice Kakar noted sharply. “If a convicted man shows up for us after being acquitted, he might as well throw the file in our face,” he added.

Despite the Defense Attorney’s request, the Court maintained that a decision would be made when the application was submitted. Justice Najafi also intervened and advised Khawar to formally respond first after the request was made.

The consultation was postponed until May 19 with instructions to both legal teams to come fully prepared.

The case

Noor, 27, was discovered dead in a private residence in sector F-7/4, Islamabad, on July 20, 2021.

According to the original FIR, Noor’s father reported that she had been “decapitated after being killed with a sharp weapon” in a cruel act that shocked the nation.

In February 2022, a District and Session Court sentenced Jaffes to death along with a 25-year prison period of hard work and a fine of RS200,000 concluding the trial that continued for over four months.

In addition to the accused, two members of his household staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, each handed down 10-year prison sentences, while other co-accused-inclusive Jaffer’s parents and several therapy workers-employed people were acquitted.

In March 2023, Islamabad High Court Jaffer’s death sentence maintained his 25-year-old sentence to a further death penalty on the appeals submitted against the sentence awarded the criminal sentences.

An appeal that challenged the IHC judgment was then filed in the Supreme Court last April.

Shaukat Mukadam, a former diplomat, had previously held a press conference on Noor’s birthday anniversary and called on the point to speed up the procedure in the event that has been pending for over 18 months.