Daily Times

Pakistan’s Chief Justice (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial has taken suo motu notice of the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif and scheduled a hearing for today.

The hearing will begin at 12:30 p.m. by a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, led by the CJP.

The interior secretary, information secretary, and foreign secretary have all received notices.

Notices have also been issued to the directors general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), as well as the president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

In its declaration, the Supreme Court stated that the journalist community and the general public were deeply saddened by the death of the senior journalist.

“The Supreme Court is being asked to conduct an investigation into the murder of Arshad Sharif,” it added.

In October, Arshad Sharif was shot dead by Kenyan police officers under mysterious circumstances.

On November 8, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked CJP Umar Ata Bandial to form a judicial commission to conduct an impartial and credible investigation into the death of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif.

In a letter to the CJP, Shehbaz requested that the top judge convene a commission comprised of all available Supreme Court judges to investigate the mysterious murder of the journalist.

The letter suggested that the commission may focus on five questions related to the circumstances surrounding the killing:

What procedure Arshad Sharif adopted to go abroad in August 2022 and who facilitated his departure abroad?

Was any federal or provincial agency, institution or administration aware of the threat issued to Arshad Sharif?

What circumstances and reasons forced Arshad Sharif to travel to Kenya from the United Arab Emirates?

What is the real truth behind the firing incident in which Arshad Sharif died?

Is Arshad Sharif’s death really a case of mistaken identity or is it the result of a ‘criminal game’?

In the letter, PM Shehbaz stated that the formation of a commission is necessary to uphold the rule of law in the country and that the federal government will provide full support to the panel in its investigation of the murder.

As questions were raised about the alleged involvement of government officials in the gruesome murder, the premier told the chief justice that a judicial inquiry into the killing was unavoidable in order to restore public trust in state institutions.