Arshad Sharif’s murder: Why Kenyan authorities not cooperating now, asks SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court directed the Foreign Ministry to find out why the Kenyan authorities initially announced to cooperate but now not granting full access to the Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) to probe the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif.

A five-judge special bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, on Monday, heard the suo motu notice of the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif.

The chief justice noted that in the instant matter; “mistakes were made both in Pakistan and abroad”. He questioned; “Why and on whose directions was the fact-finding committee’s report released,” and then said that the release of the report had alerted the suspects.

“Did the SJIT conduct an inquiry on all the points presented in the fact-finding committee’s report? Which foreign agencies have the SJIT requested cooperation from,” Justice Bandial asked. “There is a mess up between contacting Kenya and going there,” he said, adding that it was the Foreign Office’s responsibility to investigate this.

“Something happened after the fact-finding committee’s report was released because of which Kenya is not cooperating anymore,” he noted. Justice Mazhar observed that the Kenyan foreign minister had assured the Foreign Office of cooperation. “Then why was the special JIT not allowed to go to the murder site? The same story is being told to us from the first day,” he said.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman said that it was important to maintain diplomatic relations with Kenya. “This matter is complicated,” he said. Justice Ijaz noted that there were three aspects to Sharif’s murder.

“Who forced him to leave Pakistan? Was an inquiry initiated on who registered cases against Sharif? What was he shown that forced him to leave? When all these links are connected, you will automatically find out who wanted to get rid of Arshad Sharif,” he added.

At the outset, the AAG said Kenyan authorities had not yet given Pakistan complete access to the crime site. “They have only expressed agreement over mutual legal cooperation.” He submitted two reports one of Foreign Office and the other by SJIT.

He said the Kenyan authorities had accepted Pakistan’s request for mutual cooperation in the investigation. “Kenyan authorities have started taking legal action against the two police officials who opened fire at Arshad Sharif’s car.”

However, JIT chief Owais Ahmed said the investigation team had not yet received any material related to Sharif’s murder. “Kenyan officials are not granting us full access needed for the investigation,” he told the court.

Justice Mazahar said: “Tell the court clearly whether you have found strong evidence from the investigation conducted in Kenya or not.”

The JIT chief told that the team was “in contact” with the Kenyan and the UAE authorities, adding still the UAE officials had not allowed the team to conduct an investigation there.

At that, Justice Bandial said Kenya was a sovereign country and “we should not blame anyone”. “We have to instead see if the SJIT has correctly conducted investigations in Kenya and the UAE,” he added. The AAG informed that those who filed cases against Sharif were being investigated. “The names of some government officers came forth, they were also investigated,” he said. “Can’t say anything about who was behind registering cases against Arshad Sharif.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023