Pakistani-American sentenced to death for beheading woman who refused to marry him

A Pakistani court sentenced a man from a prominent industrialist family to death on Thursday, after finding him guilty of beheading a childhood friend who had refused to marry him. The ruling will likely be appealed.

Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffar's killing of Noor Mukadam last year shocked the country and drew nationwide condemnation, with the subsequent trial widely covered in the media. The verdict was quickly hailed by civil society groups.

The prosecution had alleged that Jaffar, 30, had a long-running friendship with Mukadam, 27, the daughter of a diplomat, but she rejected his romantic advances.