Islamabad, Dec 6 (PTI) Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the government to register an FIR by tonight on the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and sought the inquiry report of the committee which probed the incident.
Sharif, 49, a former reporter and TV anchor with ARY TV, was shot dead at a police checkpoint at an hour’s distance from Nairobi on October 23, creating a storm in Pakistan. The Kenyan police later said it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case.
“The FIR should be registered by tonight,” Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial ordered on Tuesday, adjourning the hearing till Wednesday.
A larger bench headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar heard the case.
Sharif, known for his proximity to former prime minister Imran Khan, had fled to Kenya after he was booked on charges of sedition and peddling an “anti-state” narrative by Pakistan’s security agencies earlier this year.
During the hearing, CJP Bandial wondered why the court had not yet been provided with the inquiry report by the government’s fact-finding committee.
“A journalist was killed. It should be revealed who was behind the killing,” he said, adding that the committee which had travelled to Kenya had been back in Pakistan for some time.
“Why has the final report of the government-formed commission not been provided to the Supreme Court?” he asked.
Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman informed the court that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was in Faisalabad when the report was received. “The report will be handed over to the apex court once the minister examines it,” he said.
The CJP then shot back, “Does the interior minister have to make changes to the report?” He also said that the court could summon Sanaullah.
It is the government’s job to investigate, not the judiciary’s, Bandial asserted.
Justice Ahsan remarked that Sharif was killed in Kenya under “suspicious circumstances” and asked what action was taken by the foreign ministry. He also sought to know whether no case had been registered in Pakistan or in Kenya on the incident.
The court then asked the foreign office to submit a response to the court regarding the investigation and the registration of an FIR in Kenya.
“Journalists are the voice of truth and also a source of information,” the CJP remarked.
Notices were issued to the Foreign Secretary, Information and Broadcasting Secretary, heads of the Federal Investigation Agency and Intelligence Bureau, the interior secretary and president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
Interestingly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Khan had recently written to CJP Bandial, asking him to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into the killing of Sharif.
Sharif’s mother had also penned a letter to the CJP on November 2, requesting the formation of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate the murder.
Meanwhile, leaders cutting across party lines welcomed the apex court’s intervention in the matter, highlighting the court’s role in protecting human rights.
“People expect the Supreme Court and the judges to stand up for basic human rights despite pressure for the sovereignty of the Constitution, and to protect human rights,” PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said.
Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed claimed several “hidden faces” would be unmasked during the trial.
Reacting to the apex court’s directive, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had been in contact with the authorities concerned, while he himself had spoken to agencies in Pakistan for speedy action.
“I have also written to the CJP to constitute a commission (to probe the case) and I hope action will be taken,” he said.
PTI SH/SRY AKJ SRY SRY
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