Noor Mukadam’s case: medical board formed as Zahir Jaffer prepares mercy plea

WEB DESK: Adiala Jail authorities have initiated the process for Zahir Jaffer’s presidential mercy petition by requesting a medical evaluation, official documents have revealed. Jaffer remains on death row after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in May 2025 for the brutal 2021 murder of Noor Mukadam. The jail superintendent sent two letters to PIMS in July requesting formation of a medical board to assess his mental health, a mandatory step before submitting the mercy plea.

The gruesome case saw Noor Mukadam, daughter of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, tortured and beheaded at Jaffer’s Islamabad residence. After a speedy trial, Jaffer received the death penalty in 2022 under Section 302B for premeditated murder, along with 25 years imprisonment for rape. Both the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court subsequently upheld the sentences.

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PIMS has assigned Dr Shafqat Nawaz from Psychiatry and Dr Amir Naveed from Neurology to conduct the medical evaluation at Adiala Jail. Under Pakistani law, the President can only commute sentences based on the Prime Minister’s advice, not overturn convictions. Legal experts consider clemency unlikely given the horrific nature of the crime and its high-profile status as a symbol in Pakistan’s fight against gender violence.

Noor’s father had previously expressed frustration over delays in the judicial process. The case gained unprecedented attention in Pakistan, sparking nationwide protests and becoming a rallying point for women’s rights activists. With all legal appeals exhausted, the medical board’s findings will determine whether Jaffer’s mercy petition proceeds to the Presidency.

In May, the SC bench maintained death penalty for murder charges for Zahir Jaffer, life imprisonment for rape (reduced from original death sentence), reduced kidnapping sentence from 10 years to one-year with labour. The court also upheld compensation order for victim’s family while the sentences for the the guard and gardener have been reduced to four years from 10 years. Given they have already served their four years, they will walk free after the verdict.

The bench confirmed the trial court’s original conviction while modifying some sentences:

1. Murder: Death penalty maintained (confirmed by Islamabad High Court earlier)
2. Rape: Death sentence commuted to life imprisonment
3. Kidnapping: 10-year sentence reduced to 1 year
4. Compensation: Rs500,000 payment to victim’s family upheld