ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) sought a progress report on investigations conducted in the murder of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif, directing the federation that the report should contain what legal steps have been taken and proposals for the probe in the future.
A two-member bench of the FCC, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Rozi Khan Barrech, on Wednesday heard the case. The bench said that this matter would be further considered after the winter vacations.
At the outset, Justice Farooq questioned whether this Court (FCC) could proceed in Arshad’s murder case as the suo moto power has been curtailed in the 27th Amendment. The bench asked both sides to assist the Court regarding the matter on the next date.
Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, on December 22, 2022, had taken a suo moto notice of Arshad Sharif murder. The renowned journalist was shot and killed in Kenya by local police on 23 October 2022. The Kenyan police described the shooting as a case of “mistaken identity”.
Initially, the case was heard by a five-judge SC bench, but after the enactment of the 26th Amendment, this matter was assigned to the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court. However, in pursuance of the 27th Amendment, the FCC was granted jurisdiction over the constitutional and the suo moto cases.
Advocate Imran Shafique, representing Arshad’s second wife Javeria Siddique, submitted that more than five thousand letters had been written to the SC after Sharif’s killing, and any one of them could be taken as a plea.
Justice Farooq stated that besides regulating the court proceedings, they also have to consider the jurisdictional aspect, adding “without satisfying itself, the constitutional court could not function on this matter.”
Additional Attorney General of Pakistan (AAGP) Aamir Rehman told the bench that a Legal Mutual Assistance (MLA) agreement had been reached between the Pakistani and Kenyan governments, and a request had been sent to the Kenyan government for the Special Joint Investigation Team’s (SJIT) visit to the crime scene.
Advocate Saad Umar Buttar, appearing on behalf of Arshad’s first wife, Summaiya Arshad, also requested the court to allow the slain journalist’s family to see the SJIT investigation report.
Upon this, Justice Farooq stated that if the law allowed, then the Court was with them. However, AAGP said that the documents could only be seen other side after the submission of the final challan in the court. He further said that a fact-finding report on the matter, which was shared with the family of the slain journalist, was made public earlier.
A lawyer of Arshad’s wife told that the Kenyan High Court had “declared (Kenyan) police officers accused”, but the prosecution against the police in the murder case had not yet started in Kenya. The bench was further informed that the Kenyan government had promoted the police officers involved in matter.
Justice Farooq also observed that “undoubtedly, the grief of Sharif’s family cannot be expressed in words, and everyone wants those responsible for the murder to be brought to justice”, but the crime scene was outside Pakistan, and the Pakistani government was bound by international laws.
AAG Rehman, too, emphasised that had the crime scene of the murder been in Pakistan, the case would have been solved by now. He said 47 meetings of the SJIT had been held so far, and the investigation team had recorded the statements of 74 individuals.
Justice Farooq observed that it had been three years since the murder of the journalist, adding that if the proceedings had been carried out, perhaps there would have been no need to take suo motu notice.
He then inquired who the accused were in this case and whether a first information report (FIR) had been lodged in Pakistan.
One of the lawyers replied that it had been three years and “nothing has happened in the investigation yet”. He said he “only wants the state of Pakistan to stand by me before the Kenyan judiciary”.
The lawyer further said that he had approached the Kenyan High Court in his personal capacity, and the government had not even exercised the option of legal assistance from the United Nations. However, Aamir Rehman said that Pakistan could not go against a friendly country. He said Kenya was a friendly country that always supported Pakistan in the UN, and therefore could not be offended.
The AAGP also informed that an FIR of the murder had been registered in Pakistan, in which three people, Khurram, Waqar, and Saleh, have been named. But they were absconding, and Interpol had been contacted for their red warrants, he said.
The case was adjourned until December 17.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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