Arshad Sharif killing: Govt presents notification of JIT members

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has shared the names of the members of a new special joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif with the Supreme Court (SC).

Yesterday, the Supreme Court SC sought names of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) members, formed by the federal government to probe the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.

Additional Attorney General, Aamir Rehman presented notification of the five-meber JIT before the five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court hearing suo moto notice of Arshad Sharif’s murder.

The new JIT includes members from ISI, IB, FIA and the Islamabad police. The members include DIG Intelligence Branch, Sajid Kiyani, FIA’s Waqarauddin Syed, DIG Headquarters, Owais Ahmed, Murtaza Afzal from the Military Intelligence and Muhammad Aslam from the ISI.

CJP Umar Ata Bandial while ordering an immediate probe into the Arshad Sharif murder case, remarked that FO in its response has given good suggestions.

The JIT will enjoy special powers and the government will provide funds to the JIT if its members want to go to Kenya for the probe.

On the query of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the AAGP replied that JIT will do its best to conclude the probe as soon as possible.

The SC while summoning the progress reports of the committee after every two weeks, adjourned the hearing of the Arshad Sharif murder case till the first week of January.

FO’s response

The Foreign Office (FO) in its response apprised the SC that the Pakistani diplomatic missions in Kenya and UAE are continuously in contact with the authorities for the probe in the case.

The contacts with the Kenyan government will yield the results soon, the FO response said and added that they are reviewing the procedure for seeking assistance from the international organizations in the Arshad Sharif murder probe.

The SC was told that the Foreign Office is committed to keeping friendly relations with Kenya and the United Arab Emirates and a departure of a special delegation to Kenya is also under consideration.

The extradition of suspects involved in the Arshad Sharif murder case from Kenya is also on the cards.

Fact-finding report

The fact-finding committee, formed to probe the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif, has failed to collect evidence about who threatened the journo to leave United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to the revelations made in the 592-page report of the inquiry committee the details of Arshad Sharif’s contact details, CDR details, residence in Kenya and the statements of the people regarding the deceased journalist are included.

In the report, the committee revealed that the slain journalist was forced to leave Pakistan due to the threats associated with the cases registered against him, pointing out that the cases were lodged against the rules and regulations.

The report also dismissed the view that Arshad Sharif was killed due to mistaken identity, claiming the journalist’s murder had been planned. The investigation team found a contradiction in the statements of the Kenyan police during the probe.

It also revealed that the anchorperson was apparently forced to leave United Arab Emirates (UAE).