Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday stated that it was pointless “at this stage” to form a judicial commission to investigate the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif. The IHC heard the case for the formation of a judicial commission and the return of his body to the country. The slain journalist’s lawyer Barrister Shoaib Razzaq appeared before the court and was asked by Justice Minallah if Sharif’s family needed any support. The barrister maintained that the deceased journalist’s body will arrive today and demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the murder. Advocate Razzaq also informed the court that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior were cooperating. CJ Minallah stated that the incident was a matter between two different countries and that state institutions could better resolve the issue.
The counsel highlighted that when Sharif had left the country earlier this year, 13 cases were registered against him and that the government had asked the UAE government to deport him back to Pakistan. “Journalists in this country are being picked up,” Justice Minallah remarked. The deputy attorney general told the court that all officials were currently working on the required steps, and were waiting for the report from the Kenyan government.
To this, Justice Minallah stated that he had come to the court today to only hear Arshad Sharif’s case. The deputy attorney general maintained that this was a tragic incident and reiterated that they were waiting for the report from Kenya, adding that if the counsel had any objections to the report then the case could be heard further. The court ordered that journalist organisations should be part of the board inquiring into the issue. Subsequently, Justice Minallah declared that there was no point in forming a commission at the current stage and adjourned the hearing for a week.
