Fathers of Noor, Sara seek swift justice from top court

The fathers of Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam, two victims of separate horrific incidents, have urged the Supreme Court to expedite the process of delivering justice, which has been painfully delayed. This plea comes after the Islamabad High Court had already upheld the sentence of Zahir Jaffar, the prime accused in the tragic killing of 27-year-old Noor in 2021.

Addressing a press conference at Islamabad’s National Press Club, Inamur Rahim, the father of Sara Inam, a Canadian national, also requested the apex court to closely examine the ongoing trial of his daughter’s homicide.

Shaukat Mukadam, Noor’s father and a former ambassador, expressed his family’s solidarity with Sara Inam’s parents, recalling how they had visited Sara’s parents to offer condolences and sympathy when they learned of Sara’s brutal murder, much like others had done for them during their own tragic ordeal.

During the trial of Noor Mukadam’s case, it was initially believed to be an open-and-shut case with assurances of a fair trial. On February 24, 2022, Noor’s murderer was sentenced to death. However, the accused later filed an appeal before the Islamabad High Court, resulting in the court upholding the capital punishment verdict in March 2023. The case is now pending before the Supreme Court.

Read More: Noor Mukadam murder case: A timeline

Notably, Zahir Jaffar approached the apex court in April 2023 to challenge the upheld capital punishment, but the case has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

Noor’s father emphasised the urgency of hearing this case, warning that prolonged delays could erode public confidence in the judicial system.

Furthermore, he called upon the Supreme Court to set a timeline for resolving Sara Inam’s case, which remains unresolved.

“These young women aspired to contribute significantly to society. Women constitute fifty per cent of Pakistan’s population, and violence and intimidation should not be tolerated,” he stated, highlighting the pervasive issue of violence against women in the purported patriarchal society.

During the press conference, Noor’s father became emotional and once again urged the Supreme Court to swiftly decide the case so that the accused, who is already on death row, can receive his due punishment.

Meanwhile, Sarah Inam’s father, Inamur Rahim, lamented that an entire year had passed without justice for his daughter. He mentioned that they had learned about Shahnawaz (Sara’s husband) mistreating Sara through her friends, with little knowledge of this family apart from Ayaz Amir, Shahnawaz’s father, a famous columnist and TV analyst.

Read More: Main suspect ‘confesses’ to killing Sara Inam

Inamur Rahim pointed out that the police had conducted a thorough investigation, gathering substantial evidence during the process. He criticised the accused’s counsel for employing delaying tactics that hindered the case’s progress, with witnesses appearing in court while the opposing counsel remained absent.

He appealed to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to intervene in Sara’s case and urged the government to take action against the accused.

It’s important to recall that the gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam, which took place in the heart of Islamabad and involved families from Pakistan’s privileged elite, had sparked widespread public outrage and garnered extensive media attention. Zahir Jaffer, a US national and heir to one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, the Jaffer Group of Companies, was charged with her murder.

Separately, Shahnawaz Amir, the prime suspect in Sara Inam’s murder case, had previously confessed to killing his Pakistani-Canadian national wife, according to a charge sheet (challan) submitted by Islamabad police to the sessions court hearing the case in December of the previous year. The challan detailed a heated telephonic conversation between the couple, leading to a violent confrontation resulting in Sara Inam’s tragic demise.