Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, now part of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), has linked the 2021 murder of Noor Mukadam to a societal “vice” known as a living relationship, the apex court revealed on Wednesday. He appeared to refer to cohabitation by unmarried individuals in a romantic relationship.
Read More: Noor Mukadam murder: SC commutes Zahir Jaffar’s rape sentence upholds death penalty
Noor, 27, was found murdered at the Islamabad residence of Zahir Zakir Jaffer in July 2021. In May, a three-judge Supreme Court bench upheld the death sentence awarded to Zahir, who had been convicted by an Islamabad trial court in 2022. Zahir’s review petition challenging the capital punishment was recently taken up by the apex court.
In his additional note on the case, Justice Najafi emphasized that living relationships “ignore societal compulsions” and defy both national law and Sharia. He described such relationships as a “direct revolt against Almighty Allah” and warned the younger generation about potential “horrible consequences,” citing the present case as an example for social reform discussions.
Ali Baqar Najafi J’s note in the Noor Mukadam case is appalling. He suggests the murder stemmed from the “vice” of “living relationships”.
A judge must uphold the law, not deliver moral lectures in a case where a woman was brutally murdered.
Replug:https://t.co/FPpjOrqMp7
— Rida Hosain (@RidaHosain) November 26, 2025
The judge also observed that no mitigating circumstances existed in Zahir’s case. He dismissed minor discrepancies in evidence, such as delays in lodging the FIR or postmortem, and noted that DNA evidence tied the accused to the crime scene. “One end of the rope is found tied with the dead body of Noor Mukadam, and the other end tied with the neck of the petitioner,” he remarked.
Zahir was arrested at the murder scene on July 20, 2021. The trial court sentenced him to death for murder and 25 years’ rigorous imprisonment for rape, while his household staff received 10-year sentences. Zahir’s parents and six employees of Therapy Works were initially indicted for attempting to conceal evidence but were later acquitted.
Read More: SC upholds death sentence for Zahir Jaffer in Noor Mukadam case
The Islamabad High Court in March 2023 upheld Zahir’s sentence, converting his 25-year term into a second death penalty. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the capital sentence in May 2025, rejecting all appeals.