ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minullah on Tuesday termed the formation of a commission on the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya as premature.
The judge made these remarks when he resumed the hearing of the plea seeking formation of a fact-finding commission on the journalist’s death.
Did anyone go to Arshad Sharif’s family? Do they need any help?” the court asked as the hearing resumed.
The petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Shoaib Razak told the court that Sharif’s dead body is being brought to Pakistan. He added that the Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs is cooperating with the family.
The lawyer said that our appeal is to form a judicial commission to investigate the murder. He also told the court that the government has asked for Sharif’s return to the UAE.
On this, Justice Minullah told the lawyer that I have come to the court today only for this case.
However, on this occasion, the Deputy Attorney General intervened and informed the court that a report would be forthcoming from the Kenyan government and if the petitioners had any objections, the case could be heard again.
Bodies of journalists should be kept on board during the inquiry. There will be no benefit in forming a commission on this occasion, Justice Minullah remarked. He also remarked that the issue is a matter of two different countries, adding that state institutions can better address the issue.
After which the judge adjourned the hearing of the case for a week.
Arshad Sharif was shot dead in a ‘mistaken identity’ case.
Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead by the Kenyan police on Sunday night in a case of “mistaken identity” while he was on his way to Nairobi from the country’s city of Magadi.
In this regard, the Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority of Kenya, Ann Makori, held a press conference on Monday and confirmed that on the evening of October 23, a 50-year-old Pakistani journalist named Arshad Muhammad Sharif was shot dead by the Kenyan police. . Within Kajiado County limits.
“A Pakistani national was allegedly killed by the police in Tunga market in Kajiado County last evening. Our rapid response team has already been dispatched,” he said, adding that investigations into the incident would continue. are ongoing and that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority will conduct a transparent investigation into Sharif’s murder.
