The son of wealthy Pakistani and American parents has been sentenced to death for raping and beheading his girlfriend after she rejected his marriage proposal at his Islamabad home last year.
Zahir Jaffer kidnapped his childhood friend, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, sexually assaulted and tortured her with brass knuckles for 3 days before beheading her, after she turned him down in July last year.
A grainy video footage showed Mukadam trying to escape a sprawling mansion where she was kept hostage before her horrifying murder.
She sprints towards the gate before Jaffer races outside and drags her back inside the home with the help of his cook and security guard, the prosecutors reportedly said.
Jaffer was arrested from the Islamabad mansion and later charged with premeditated murder, rape, abduction and confinement. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Thursday, Feb 24, Jaffer was given a death sentence for killing the young Pakistani socialite after she rejected his marriage proposal.
"The main accused has been awarded the death sentence," Judge Atta Rabbani said at the Islamabad district court on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Both his staff members were sentenced to 10 years in the slammer for abetting murder.
"I am happy that justice has been served," said Mukadam’s dad, Shuakat Mukadam, a former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.
"I’ve been saying that this is not just my daughter’s case, it is a case for all the daughters of my country," he said, according to Reuters.
Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, who run one of Pakistan's largest trading and project management firms, who were accused of making the "utmost efforts to wipe off evidence" were found not guilty of destroying evidence.
Mukadam’s mother said she could not bear to face her daughter’s murderer.
"I did not show up at the court on the day of judgment because I did not want to see him [Zahir Jaffer]. I even did not want to see his cruel face on social media and other forums," she said.
"Obviously, a person who does this to one’s daughter in such a brutal way, how can he be seen (by a mother)? she can’t stand it. We will only be satisfied when he will be hanged."
"I often tell my son how quiet the house has become without Noor. With the departure of Noor, our house has said goodbye to laughter", she said.
Jaffer will be "hanged by his neck until he is dead", but he was also given a concurrent sentence of 25 years behind bars for abduction and rape, according to the court verdict.
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