- Court asks to include members from ISI, IB, FIA and police in probing team
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to set up a new, specialized investigation team to investigate the killing of Arshad Sharif, the prominent investigative journalist who was shot dead in Kenya.
Sharif, 50, a fierce critic of the military, died in a suspected police shooting near Kenya’s capital Nairobi on October 24.
A five-member bench, comprising CJP Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar took the hearing of the suo moto notice.
On Tuesday, a large bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the chief justice, ordered the federal government to file the first information report (FIR), 43 days after Sharif’s “targeted” killing.
Sharif fled Pakistan in August — first to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and later to the East African nation — after over a dozen sedition cases were registered against him for allegedly criticising institutions and “abetting mutiny” within the army.
The court had directed the authorities to present a copy of the police report and the inquiry report conducted by the two-member investigation team, which visited the two nations, on Wednesday.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the latest should include members from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the police.
The court asked the government to issue a notification to this end and inform the judges about the members by Thursday.
Tuesday’s FIR was brief as an investigation had not taken place and there were no eyewitnesses, the top judge said.
He said the probe should be conducted by senior officials who are experts in understanding the case and gathering evidence from other nations. It also asked the Foreign Office to assist the team in collecting evidence.
“The court has not formed a judicial commission as it is a criminal case,” CJP Bandial observed during the hearing, adding that the investigation should begin from Khurram and Waqar, the two men Sharif was in contact with in Kenya.
Earlier, a copy of the 592 pages long report compiled by the fact-finding committee was also submitted in the court. The report bears the signatures the two-member commission – FIA Director Muhammad Athar Waheed and Intelligence Bureau (IB) Deputy Director General Omar Shahid Hamid.
Sharif’s mother Riffat Ara Alvi and his widow were present for the hearing, along with the FIA director general, the information secretary and the Islamabad police chief.
During the hearing, the interior ministry presented the fact-finding report and the first information report (FIR) registered on Tuesday of the journalist’s killing.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman told the court the investigating team had received information from Kenyan authorities. The team also met three of the officials who fired at Sharif, he said, adding that a meeting with the fourth one could not be arranged as he was injured.
The AAG further said that the government was trying to arrange a meeting with the relevant minister and the cabinet secretary. “The high commission in Kenya is in contact with the relevant authorities,” he said.
Sharif’s employer, ARY News, had fired him in August, claiming the journalist had violated its social media policy, without specifically mentioning the post. His talk show, Powerplay, which aired on Mondays and Thursdays, was also discontinued.
Sharif’s family, his friends and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, including its chairman Imran Khan, have demanded a fair investigation into the murder. They claimed he was forced to leave the Sheikhdom at the request of the Foreign Office, a claim the Foreign Office categorically dismissed.
Last week, Imran Riaz Khan, senior journalist and Sharif’s colleague, launched a “Write Letter To Chief Justice” campaign, eliciting a massive response from across the nation, with people sending letters to the top judge, urging him to investigate the grisly murder.
Joining the campaign, Khan also penned a letter to the chief justice, requesting him to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into the matter.
