Daily Times

IHC says ‘premature’ to form commission on Arshad Sharif’s death

Chief Justice (CJ) of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Athar Minallah rejected the request to form a fact-finding commission on the killing of senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif in Kenya on Tuesday, saying there was no point in doing so at this point in the case.

“Indeed this was an unfortunate incident. I have come to the court today only because of Arshad’s case. We should have trust in the government. I am sure that journalists’ bodies will take up the issue before the government,” he remarked during the hearing of the petition, seeking constitution of a commission to find out the reasons for the murder of the journalist that made headlines not only in Pakistan, but also in other countries of the world.

Underscoring the fact that the murder of a senior journalist was not an ordinary incident, the CJ urged the government to look into it since it was in a better position to probe it.

Barrister Shoaib Razzaq, the petitioner, appeared in court.

Justice Minallah asked him whether anybody had visited late Arshad’s place to meet with his family. “Do they need any kind of support?” he inquired.

Barrister informed him that the body of the deceased would reach Pakistan at 1:00 AM tonight.

The petitioner further said that both concerned ministries had fully cooperated with him and Arshad’s family.

He went on to say that the government had requested the authorities in the UAE to deport the journalist to Pakistan when he went there after receiving death threats in the country.

The CJ then adjourned hearing of the case until next week.

IHC says ‘premature’ to form commission on Arshad Sharif’s death

Senior journalist Arshad Sharif was shot dead in the outskirts of Kenya’s Nairobi city on Sunday.

Police in Kenya confirmed his death and opened an investigation.

Javeria Siddiqui, Sharif’s wife, confirmed the tragic news on Twitter and acknowledged that her husband had died in Kenya.

She tweeted, “I lost friend, husband, and my favourite journalist today. According to the police, he was shot in Kenya.”

She also urged the public and the media to refrain from posting on social media any images of their families, private information, or Sharif’s final images from the hospital.

Sharif previously worked for ARY News, and after leaving the network, he moved to Dubai. He had previously worked for some of the top news organisations in the nation. In 2019 he received the “Presidential Pride of Performance” award for his outstanding journalism.