The Supreme Court said in a statement that Kenyan authorities were reluctant to cooperate with Pakistan’s Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) in investigating senior journalist Arshad Sharif’s murder case. Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Amir Rehman presented the progress report before a bench of five judges. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial presided over the bench. He revealed that Kenyan authorities charged two police officers with using excessive force.
Arshad Sharif Murder Case: Kenyan Authorities Not Cooperating, Asks SC
AAG Rehman said that the SHIT members could not investigate any individual, nor were they allowed to inspect the crime scene. He admitted that the investigative team in Kenya has not obtained any new or tangible material or evidence.
He said that the SHIT was also denied access to the brothers Khurram and Waqar, who sponsored and sheltered Sharif, in the East African country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif requested the Kenyan president by telephone in January, but Kenya has yet to respond.
The AAG maintained that Kenya was a friendly country. The Stand reported that Pakistan could not take any action that could affect bilateral cooperation on international issues.
Judge Ijazul Ahsan, sitting on the bench, insisted that the United Nations be involved in the case. He also asked the SHIT whether they had investigated the circumstances that forced the journalist to flee Pakistan.
Arshad Sharif was shot and killed by police in Kenya on October 23, 2022. A report from the Commission of Inquiry said Sharif’s killing was a “planned and targeted killing” by transnational characters and not a case of mistaken identity, as alleged by police in Kenya.
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