File photo. Aamir Qureshi—AFP
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government to form a new joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, saying it should include officials of the ISI, IB, FIA and police.
Hearing the suo motu case into Sharif’s killing, the court directed the government to issue a notification and inform it about the membership of the JIT by tomorrow (Thursday), adding that the probe should be conducted by senior officers. Stressing that the members of the JIT should be experts in understanding the case and gathering evidence from other countries, it directed the Foreign Ministry to assist the JIT in collecting evidence.
“The court has not formed a judicial commission as it is a criminal case,” said CJP Umar Ata Bandial during the hearing, adding that the investigation should begin with Khurram and Waqar Ahmed, the two men who hosted Sharif in Kenya.
The hearing began with the Interior Ministry presenting a fact-finding report into Sharif’s killing compiled by FIA Director Muhammad Athar Waheed and IB Deputy Director General Omar Shahid Hamid as well as the FIR lodged a day earlier.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman informed the court that the investigating team had received information from Kenyan authorities and had met three of the officials who allegedly fired at Sharif. A fourth police official, reportedly injured in the attack on Sharif, was unavailable, he added. “The high commission in Kenya is in contact with the relevant authorities” to arrange a meeting with the relevant minister and the cabinet secretary, he said.
CJP Bandial noted that all real evidence of the case was in Kenya and the matter must be taken up with Kenyan authorities. Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi complained that the names of the Kenyan police officials who had shot at Sharif were not disclosed in the fact-finding report. “Why was a case not registered against the officials?” he questioned, with the AAG saying it was unclear if a case could be registered against foreigners.
“This is a very serious matter. We are warning the government to also take it seriously,” Justice Naqvi remarked.
Journalist’s mother
Taking the stand, Sharif’s mother thanked the CJP for taking suo motu of her son’s killing and said she did not want another mother to go through what she had experienced. “We were working on this case for a month,” said the CJP. “There is no need for thanks. The court is carrying out its duty,” he added.
Recalling that her son first fled Pakistan and then Dubai due to persistent death threats, she stressed that she merely wanted justice for her son. At this, the court directed the relevant officials to record the statement of Sharif’s mother.
During the hearing, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel recalled that a Pakistani activist had been killed under mysterious circumstances in Canada last year. “If that case had been investigated, then maybe such a thing would not have happened with a Pakistani national in a foreign country,” he claimed. “It is unfortunate that we only spring into action after an incident takes place,” he added.
The hearing of the case was then adjourned till tomorrow (Thursday).
Sharif, who fled Pakistan in August after several cases were registered against him, initially traveled to the United Arab Emirates before proceeding to Kenya, where he was shot dead by police on Oct. 23. Initially the Kenyan police had claimed he was slain due to a case of “mistaken identity” but subsequent reports have brought this into question, with the fact-finding team saying a targeted killing cannot be ruled out.