SC drops hint of forming judicial commission in Arshad Sharif's murder case

CJP Bandial has given three more weeks to JIT for probe in the case

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has warned of constituting a judicial commission in case the joint investigation team (JIT) failed to satisfy the top court in probe regarding murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.

The chief justice made the remarks when a five-judge larger bench heard the suo motu case. He said everyone linked to the killing case would be summoned to record their statements by the judicial commission if the investigators did not submit a satisfactory report.

The top court has given three more weeks to the special JIT to complete investigation in foreign countries, adding that it could forma the commission for investigation since it was a basic human rights matter.

At one point, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, counsel for Arshad's family, appeared before the bench, raising objections over the way the court was supervising the JIT’s probe in the case.

However, the CJP justified the suo motu proceedings, saying the court could supervise the investigation in the case. Additional Attorney General Ch Amir Rehman informed the court that there had been no response from the UAE authorities and that they were also awaiting a response on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from Kenya.

Last year, Arshad Sharif was allegedly killed by four members of the para-military General Service Unit (GSU) near Kenyan capital Nairobi when his driver, Khurram Ahmed – Waqar Ahmed’s brother - did not stop the car at the checkpoint.