ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court turned down the application of the mother of (late) Arshad Sharif to direct the Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) to record the statements of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and others.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, on Tuesday, heard suo moto on the brutal murder of journalist Arshad Sharif.

Last week, Arshad Sharif’s mother filed an application, through advocate Shaukat Siddiqui, pleading that former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PTI’s former ministers, Faisal Vawda and Murad Saeed, CEO ARY News Salman Iqbal and journalist/ Vlogger Imran Riaz Khan, who had claimed with “all certainty to this affect”, join the investigation, and the JIT be directed to probe them for collecting evidence against the real perpetrators.

During the proceeding, Shaukat Siddiqui stated the statements of these people are vital, and requested the Court to direct the SJIT to record the statements of these people mentioned in the application. The chief justice remarked that the Court is only facilitating, and cannot conduct the investigation. He asked the counsel to himself approach the SJIT.

Siddiqui said that collecting, securing, and procuring the evidence was the main job of the SJIT, which under Section 161 of CrPC should examine these persons. He asked who had released the statement of Murad Saeed, which had been given to SJIT, on social media.

The chief justice said that the matter is of huge public importance. “We don’t want freedom of expression to be stifled. Have to protect the journalists, they are the ears and eyes of society.” He said for the time being no progress has been made in the murder case of Arshad Sharif.

Attorney General for Pakistan informed that through Interpol perpetual warrants of two Pakistanis, who were with the slain journalist before his death in Kenya, Khurram and Waqar, have been issued.

The chief justice questioned how the warrant could be executed without Extradition Treaty without Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), adding in the last hearing an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had apprised the court that without the MLA the Kenyan authority would not cooperate in the investigation.

AGP Usman Mansoor Awan said that on June 9, the Kenyan High Commission in Islamabad delivered a letter to the MoFA. He said that the correspondence is confidential. The draft of the agreement document has been sent to the relevant department and ministry in Kenya. The Court observed that it means that once the MLA is signed then investigation would proceed.

Justice Mazahar Naqvi remarked what the SJIT members were doing in Kenya without MLA. It was a futile exercise. The chief justice said it is a very disconcerting investigation, which is now standstill. He noted that the circulation of Fact-Finding (FF) report of the incident in public was also very unfortunate. The material was placed on TV channels. He questioned why no precautionary measures were taken at that time.

The attorney general said that forensic was conducted, and it has been confirmed that the copies of the FF report submitted in the Supreme Court was different from the report that went to the public.

The case was adjourned until the second week of July.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023