Pakistan: Trial begins in rape-beheading of ex-envoys daughter

The accused, Zahir Jaffer, 30, from a wealthy industrialist family, has denied killing Noor Mukadam, 27.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged that the accused would not escape justice for being part of the Pakistani elite and a dual national.

Noor was attacked after allegedly refusing Jaffer's marriage proposal, attempting repeatedly to escape Jaffer’s sprawling mansion in an upscale neighborhood in Islamabad but blocked each time by his staff, a police report had said.

Jaffer raped and tortured her with a knuckle duster before beheading her with a “sharp-edged weapon,” the media reports had added.

“Her life could have been saved had the accomplices acted otherwise,” the report said, which was presented to the court in a previous hearing.

Eleven others have also been charged in connection to the murder, including some of Jaffer’s household staff, his parents, and others who were allegedly asked to conceal evidence.

The brutal murder of Noor, daughter of Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, is one of the most high-profile cases of violence against women since the government introduced new legislation designed to speed up justice for rape victims.

Noor Mukadam’s murder sparked protests across the country and called for reform to Pakistan’s gender violence laws.

It received nationwide attention due to a growing, youth-driven women’s rights movement in the country where victims of violence are often discouraged from speaking out and blamed for abuse.

According to a government survey conducted between 2017-18, 28 per cent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence in Pakistan.