The court had previously called for involving UN in the investigation

On Monday, the Supreme Court (SC) was informed that the Kenyan authorities are hindering the progress of the investigation into the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif. The hearing resumed as the court took up the suo motu notice of the murder. A five-member bench, led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, heard the case.

In the previous hearing, the court had instructed the investigative team to seek the involvement of the United Nations in the murder probe and emphasized that the court would not interfere in the investigation. The bench stated that it is very serious about a transparent investigation and the freedom of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the matter.

A 592-page fact-finding report submitted to the court indicated that the murder of the journalist was a planned targeted assassination, potentially involving transnational characters. The investigators also disputed the Kenyan police’s explanation that the killing was a case of mistaken identity.

Sharif left Pakistan in August of the previous year, following the registration of multiple cases against him. Reports indicate that he first sought refuge in the UAE, before eventually traveling to Kenya, where he was tragically killed.

At first, local Kenyan police claimed that Sharif’s death was a result of a “mistaken identity” shooting by law enforcement. However, subsequent media reports reconstructed the events surrounding the killing, suggesting that the occupant of Sharif’s car at the time of the shooting was believed to have fired upon paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) officers. In response, the government of Pakistan formed a team to travel to Kenya and investigate the murder.