The wife of slain journalist Arshad Sharif has expressed concerns regarding the JIT Court’s appeal for ‘confidence’ in institutions. This comes just days before investigators are scheduled to travel to Kenya on January 15.
Samia Arshad, the widow of prominent journalist Arshad Sharif, voiced her concerns about the JIT members at the Supreme Court on Thursday in Islamabad (SC).
On October 23 of last year, Sharif, a fervent follower of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, was shot and killed in Nairobi, Kenya.
The journalist’s death had shocked the media community, civil society, and human rights organisations, and it had sparked demands for a comprehensive inquiry and the release of all relevant information.
The fact-finding committee, which was made up of two senior officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), received praise from the CJP during an earlier hearing for its report’s discovery of crucial case-related information.
According to their findings, the killing of Sharif was not a case of mistaken identity as the Kenyan police had reported, but rather a “planned and targeted assassination” by transnational personalities.
Today’s hearing of the suo motu case regarding the journalist’s death was presided over by a five-person bigger bench, which was presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
The JIT’s progress report was delivered to the court and the judges’ chamber by the Islamabad Police prior to the hearing.
They have also received the report and the affidavits of the deputy superintendent and deputy inspector general of the Islamabad police.
In addition to Muhammad Aslam from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Murtaza Afzal from the Military Intelligence (MI), Waqaruddin Syed from the FIA, and Sajid Kayani from the IB, the JIT is also led by Islamabad Police DIG Headquarters Awais Ahmed.
Samia voiced concerns about the investigation team during court proceedings, claiming that two of the JIT members were the accused in the case’s subordinates and that she did not, therefore, trust them.
She was advised to “have faith as institutions run on trust,” CJP Bandial said.
She continued by asking the top court to add Section 109 (terrorism and abetment) charges to the case.
The judge, Sayyed Mazahar Naqvi, stated that these charges could be added at any time.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Naqvi also requested that the JIT contact the UN to request assistance with the inquiry.
Earlier, Chaudhary Aamir Rehman, the Additional Attorney General (AAG), told the court that the JIT had recorded statements from 41 witnesses in Pakistan, and that Kenyan authorities had requested the team travel there to record the statements of necessary officials after January 15.
The JIT would spend two weeks in Kenya to accomplish this, according to the AAG.
On January 4, he noted, the administration made a request for mutual legal assistance (MLA) to Kenyan authorities.
This investigation comprises three phases, according to Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
He explained, “The first is to look into the circumstances that [Sharif] was compelled to leave Pakistan, the second is about [his stay in] Dubai, and the third is about the inquiry in Kenya.
Before the court postponed the hearing until the first week of February, he noted that while phase one of the recording of witness testimony had ended, “there is nothing concerning [the other] two phases.”
