IHC defers request for formation of commission on Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya

• IHC says there would be no benefit in forming a panel at this point.
• Matter between two different countries, state institutions can resolve the problem better, says IHC CJ.
• Interior and foreign ministries cooperating with family, lawyer tells court.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday termed it premature to form a commission on the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

The judge passed the remark as he resumed the hearing of a petition filed seeking the formation of a fact-finding commission into the journalist’s death.

“Did anyone go to Arshad Sharif’s family? Do they need any assistance?” the court asked as the hearing resumed.

Counsel for the petitioner Barrister Shoaib Razzaq informed the court that Sharif’s dead body is being brought to Pakistan. He added that the interior and foreign ministries were cooperating with the family.

“Our appeal is that a judicial commission is formed to probe the murder,” said the lawyer. He also informed the court that the government had asked for the repatriation of Sharif from the UAE.

At this, Justice Minallah told the counsel that he had come to court today just for this case.

But, at this point, the deputy attorney general interjected and informed the court that the report from the Kenyan government will come and if the petitioners have any objections to it then the case can be heard again.

“Journalists’ bodies should be kept on board during the inquiry. There would be no benefit in forming a commission at this point,” remarked Justice Minallah at the this. He also remarked that the issue was a matter between two different countries, adding that state institutions can resolve the problem better.

The judge then adjourned the hearing of the case for a week.

Arshad Sharif shot dead in 'mistaken identity' case

Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead by the Kenyan police Sunday night in a “mistaken identity” case while he was traveling to Nairobi from the country’s Magadi town.

In this regard, the Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, Kenya, Anne Makori held a press conference on Monday and confirmed that on the evening of October 23, a Pakistani journalist, named Arshad Muhammad Sharif, 50, was shot by the Kenyan police within the limits of Kajiado County.

"There's an alleged police killing of a Pakistani national at Tinga market, Kajiado county, last evening. Our rapid response team has already been dispatched," she said, adding that a probe related to the incident is underway and that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority will carry out a transparent investigation into the killing of Sharif.