CJP Takes Suo Motu Notice On Arshad Sharif's Killing

The top court has announced suo motu action, saying that it will hear the case today.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 6th, 2022) Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu notice of the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya with a larger bench hearing the case.

A SC five-member bench headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazharnis hearing the case.

In a statement, the SC announced suo motu action. The top court said that it would hear the case today.

The SC observed, “The journalist community in the country and the public at large are deeply distressed and concerned about the death of the senior journalist and are seeking the court's scrutiny of the matter,”.

The court also issued notices to the interior secretary, foreign secretary, information secretary, director generals of Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), Intelligence Bureau, and president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

The PTI had constantly been asking the Supreme Court to look into Sharif's death.

While PM Shehbaz also wrote to the CJP for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate Sharif's killing.

The mother of the slain journalist also made this demand to the Supreme Court.

Arshad Sharif was killed on the night of October 23 in Kenya by the Kenyan GSU officers in mysterious circumstances as he was being driven to Nairobi.

The Kenyan police have claimed that the journalist was shot in a case of mistaken identity, however, the details that emerged later contradicted the claims.

The Pakistani government had formed a two-member team, including the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials, to probe the murder.

The team traveled to Kenya and UAE to gather evidence and prepared a report which has been submitted to the Interior Ministry.