The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Friday condemned the “misogynistic and irresponsible” remarks made by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi in his additional note in the Noor Mukadam murder case, saying that his comments amounted to clear victim-blaming and reflected a harmful mindset within the judiciary.
Justice Najafi — now serving on the Federal Constitutional Court — had issued an additional seven-page note alongside the Supreme Court decision dismissing the appeal of Zahir Jaffer against his death sentence. In that note, he urged Pakistan’s youth to recognise the “horrible consequences” highlighted by the case, calling it a tragedy that should push social reformers to address what he described as rising societal vices.
Linking the case to an “increasing trend of unmarried cohabitation,” which he labelled a vice gaining ground among the upper class, the judge described what he termed a “living relationship” as a practice that violated state law and Islamic injunctions, amounting to “a direct revolt against Almighty Allah”.
