Zahir Jaffer mercy plea: Jail writes for medical board constitution

ISLAMABAD: Before the mercy appeal to the President against death penalty awarded to Zahir Jaffer in Noor Mukadam’s murder case, Adiala Jail authorities have written a letter to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

“Medical examination of the convict has been the mandatory legal prerequisite before the convict’s mercy plea to the President,” the letter read.

In the letter jail authorities have asked for constitution of a medical board for the death row prisoner Zahir Jaffer.

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of the convict, Zahir Jaffer, against the death penalty.

“For the mercy appeal of the convict to be submitted to the President, the opinion of the medical and psychological doctors board is compulsory,” letter read.

The jail authorities have asked for constitution of the board for the death sentence convict.

The Supreme Court had upheld Zahir Jaffer’s death sentence in its verdict over an appeal in Noor Mukadam’s murder case.

Noor, 27, was found murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was arrested from the site of the murder.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Hashim Kakar, also comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, announced the verdict.

The court kept Zahir Jaffer’s death sentence unchanged in the murder case, while commuted his death penalty into life sentence in the rape case and acquitted him from the charge of kidnapping.

The supreme court bench also ordered acquittal of Zahir Jaffer’s watchman and gardener. “The prison term they have gone through, has been their punishment”, the bench observed.

In February 2022, a district and sessions judge convicted Zahir Jaffer of murdering Noor Mukadam, awarding him the death penalty along with 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000. His household staff, Iftikhar and Jameel, co-accused in the case, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, while all other suspects, including Jaffer’s parents and TherapyWorks employees, were acquitted.