Supreme Court to take up Arshad Sharif case on 5th

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up on January 5 the suo moto case of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was killed in Kenya on October 23, 2022.

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen, Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, will resume the hearing.

During the last hearing held on December 8, the federal government had told the court that it has constituted a new five-member Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) comprised of highly professional officers that will investigate the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

The Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) will be led by Awais Ahmed, DIG Headquarters Islamabad Police, while four other members of the team are Sajid Kiyani from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Muhammad Aslam from Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), Waqaruddin from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Murtaza Afzal from Military Intelligence (MI), respectively.

The additional attorney-general had informed the court that the federal government has constituted the SJIT given the FIR lodged at Ramna Police Station under Section 302. He also informed the court that the Islamabad SSP will provide assistance to the investigation team.