World News | Pak Govt Sets Up New Team to Probe Killing of Journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya

Islamabad, Dec 8 (PTI) The Pakistan government on Thursday constituted a new joint investigation team, including officials from the ISI, to probe the controversial killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, a day after the Supreme Court ordered it to set up a new team of investigators.

The JIT was set up following directives by the Supreme Court, according to a report submitted by the government with the court, which for the third consecutive day conducted a hearing of the case about the journalist's suspected murder.

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During the hearing, the five-member bench, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked the JIT to submit a progress report before the next date of the hearing.

The new JIT included civilian and police officials from police, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence, Federal Investigation Agency and Intelligence Bureau and replaced a two-member probe team initially formed by the government for fact-finding.

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Ordering the probe team for “an honest and impartial investigation" the chief justice asked it to let him know if they faced any administrative difficulty in their work. The apex court then adjourned the hearing till the first week of January.

Sharif, 49, a former reporter and TV anchor with ARY TV, was shot dead at a police checkpoint at an hour's distance from Nairobi on October 23, creating a storm in Pakistan.

Separately, the Foreign Office also submitted a report, detailing different means through which the investigation team can be facilitated by the ministry. The apex court after taking the suo moto notice of the case had directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit its response.

The ministry stated that it was in constant contact with the Pakistani mission in Kenya and the United Arab Emirates to investigate the case and obtain evidence.

It said contacts with the Kenyan authorities will soon yield positive results and the Kenya High Commission in Pakistan has assured that the evidence collection and investigation process is ongoing and he will soon share the final findings with Pakistan.

The Foreign Office said that it was reviewing procedures for assistance from international organisations to advance the investigation and was also considering sending a special delegation to raise the matter with the Kenyan authorities.

Sharif was killed on October 23 in mysterious circumstances in the suburbs of Nairobi sparking outrage in Pakistan. The Supreme Court this week took suo moto notice of the murder and it set up a five-member bench and started hearing.

Sharif left Pakistan in August after a number of cases were registered against him. It was reported that he was initially staying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after which he went to Kenya, where he was shot dead.

Initially, Kenyan media had quoted the local police as saying Sharif was shot dead by police in a case of “mistaken identity”.

But later reports from the Kenyan media reconstructed the events surrounding the killing, stating that an occupant in Sharif's car at the time of his killing was believed to have shot at paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) officers.

The Pakistan government subsequently formed a team that travelled to Kenya to investigate the killing.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)