The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday disposed of petitions seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the murder of senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif, observing that the matter is already under consideration in the Supreme Court.
Justice Raja Inam Ameen Minhas announced the order on petitions filed by Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, and senior journalist Hamid Mir.
The court noted that since the Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice of the case and was monitoring the progress of the investigation, directing the establishment of a Special Joint Investigation Team, it would be beyond the High Court’s jurisdiction to issue directions for a judicial commission.
The IHC stated that the petitioners could raise their concerns directly before the Supreme Court, while the federal government and other stakeholders were bound to keep all parties informed about the progress of the case.
According to the court record, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of Arshad Sharif’s killing on December 6, 2022, shortly after his murder in Kenya.
The federal government subsequently constituted a Special JIT and also signed a Mutual Legal Assistance pact with Kenya, allowing Pakistani investigators to conduct inquiries there.
The Supreme Court, the IHC observed, has framed key questions to ensure transparency in the investigation and continues to oversee the progress of the inquiry.
The case revolves around the killing of Arshad Sharif in October 2022, after he had left Pakistan in August that year following the registration of several cases against him. He first moved to the United Arab Emirates and later relocated to Kenya.
Kenyan police initially claimed that Sharif was killed in a case of mistaken identity after allegedly failing to stop at a checkpoint.
However, subsequent media reports in Kenya presented conflicting versions, while Pakistani investigators later concluded that the journalist’s death was, in fact, a planned and targeted assassination.
Sharif’s widow later filed a case in a Kenyan court against the country’s paramilitary General Service Unit, which was involved in the incident.
While Kenyan authorities maintain that Sharif’s vehicle violated a police barrier, his family and Pakistani investigators reject this claim, insisting that the killing was premeditated and planned before he arrived in Kenya.
