ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its written order on the Arshad Sharif murder case, has directed the joint investigation team (JIT) to find out why the senior journalist left Pakistan before he was shot dead in Kenya last year.

In the order announced Friday, the apex court has asked three questions and instructed the JIT to find their answers in the investigation. "Why did Arshad Sharif left Pakistan?" the court questioned, asking the team to investigate what sensitive information was in the possession of the senior journalist. The top court questioned why the report of the fact-finding committee became public and what were the objectives. The Supreme Court also asked the JIT to probe why the Dubai government asked Arshad Sharif to leave the city. Read more: SC judge seeks UN role in Arshad Sharif murder probe The foreign ministry was given two more weeks to seek cooperation from the Kenyan government under the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) act.

Further hearing of the case will be held in March. Arshad Sharif was shot dead by police under mysterious circumstances in Kenya on October 23, 2022. The killing sent shock waves across the country, with rights organisations, the media fraternity, and civil society calling for a thorough investigation and disclosure of facts. A fact-finding committee report had termed Sharif's murder a “planned and targeted assassination” by transnational characters and not a case of mistaken identity, as claimed by the police in Kenya. In December, the chief justice had taken suo motu notice of the journalist’s murder. A five-judge larger bench led by CJP himself and comprising Justice Ahsan, Justice Akbar, Justice Mandokhail and Justice Mazhar is hearing the matter. During an earlier hearing, CJP Bandial noted that the apex court wanted an honest and impartial investigation.

He hoped that progress would be made in different areas of the probe, asking the JIT to approach his office if they face any administrative difficulties in the investigation.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 18 2023

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