CJ IHC Athar Minallah defers request for formation of commission on Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya
ISLAMABAD, Oct 25 (SABAH): Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday termed it premature to form a commission on the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
The judge passed the remark as he resumed the hearing of a petition filed seeking the formation of a fact-finding commission into the journalist’s death.
“Did anyone go to Arshad Sharif’s family? Do they need any assistance?” the court asked as the hearing resumed.
Counsel for the petitioner Barrister Shoaib Razzaq informed the court that Sharif’s dead body is being brought to Pakistan. He added that the interior and foreign ministries were cooperating with the family.
“Our appeal is that a judicial commission is formed to probe the murder,” said the lawyer. He also informed the court that the government had asked for the repatriation of Sharif from the UAE.
At this, Justice Minallah told the counsel that he had come to court today just for this case.
But, at this point, Deputy Attorney General Syed Ahsan Raza Shah interjected and informed the court that the report from the Kenyan government will come and if the petitioners have any objections to it then the case can be heard again.
“Journalists’ bodies should be kept on board during the inquiry. There would be no benefit in forming a commission at this point,” remarked Justice Minallah at this. He also remarked that the issue was a matter between two different countries, adding that state institutions can resolve the problem better.
CJ IHC directed the government to keep journalist bodies on board while it investigates. Justice Minallah remarked that journalists’ organisations should be kept on board with the inquiry, and the formation of the commission at this stage would not serve any purpose.
After hearing arguments, the court adjourned the hearing for a week.
The petition requested the court to order the formation of a judicial commission to investigate why the journalist was forced to flee Pakistan, and later the United Arab Emirates.
“The judicial commission may also be directed to liaison with national agencies and the Kenyan agencies and probe into the heinous act which had led to the unwarranted cold-blooded murder of Arshad Sharif,” the petition stated.
It also requested the court to issue directives for bringing the journalist’s body back to Pakistan.
Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead by the Kenyan police Sunday night in a “mistaken identity” case while he was traveling to Nairobi from the country’s Magadi town.
In this regard, the Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, Kenya, Anne Makori held a press conference on Monday and confirmed that on the evening of October 23, a Pakistani journalist, named Arshad Muhammad Sharif, 50, was shot by the Kenyan police within the limits of Kajiado County.
“There’s an alleged police killing of a Pakistani national at Tinga market, Kajiado county, last evening. Our rapid response team has already been dispatched,” she said, adding that a probe related to the incident is underway and that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority will carry out a transparent investigation into the killing of Sharif.