SC judge seeks UN role in Arshad murder probe

Top court informed Kenya ‘reluctant’ to cooperate

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that the Kenyan authorities were reluctant to cooperate with the Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) of Pakistan in the investigation of the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Amir Rehman presented the progress report before a five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, saying that the Kenyan authorities had charged two police officials with use of excessive force.

AAG Rehman said that that the SJIT members could not investigate any individual nor were they allowed to inspect the crime scene. He admitted that the investigation team could not obtain any new or tangible material or evidence in Kenya.

He said that the SJIT was also not given access to brothers Khurram and Waqar, who sponsored and hosted Sharif, in the east African country. He added that a request was made through Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the Kenyan president for a telephone call in January but Kenya had yet to respond.

The AAG maintained that Kenya was a friendly country and Pakistan could not take any action which could affect the bilateral cooperation on international issues.

Sitting on the bench, Justice Ijazul Ahsan urged that the United Nations should be involved in the matter. He also asked the SJIT whether they had investigated the circumstances which caused the journalist to flee Pakistan.

Arshad Sharif was shot and killed by police in Kenya on October 23, 2022. The killing sent shock waves across rights organisations, the media fraternity and the civil society and prompted calls for thorough investigation and disclosure of facts.

A fact-finding committee report had said that the murder of Sharif was a “planned and targeted assassination” by transnational characters and not a case of mistaken identity, as claimed by the police in Kenya.

Meanwhile, Arshad Sharif’s wife appeared in the court and sought a certified copy of the report of the SJIT. However, the chief justice declined the request. He said that the case was being adjourned until next month, while another report would be presented in two weeks.