The Pakistan Supreme Court has raised concerns about delays in the completion of a mutual legal assistance agreement (MLA) with Kenya, a key step in Arshad Sharif’s murder investigation.
A constitutional bank of six members led by Judge Aminuddin Khan heard the case of Suo Motu on Friday, said Express News.
The additional attorney general (AAG) informed the court that the agreement had been signed and would be sent for presidential approval within a month.
Judge Hassan Azhar Rizvi questioned why the pact, signed on December 10, 2023, had not yet been ratified. Judge Jamal Khan Commandkhail asked if the court needed to demand daily progress reports.
The bank also referred to the extradition of Pakistan of the Daesh Sharifullah commander to the United States, questioning how it proceeded despite the absence of a prison exchange treaty.
“A journalist was brutally murdered, however, the Pakistani government has not supported his family in Kenya,” said Judge Rizvi.
The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Interior declared that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been notified about the agreement on February 27, which caused more questions from the bank about why it took two months after the last hearing to act.
Arshad Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, informed the court that Kenya’s Superior Court had ordered measures against police officers involved in the murder, but Kenya’s government had appealed the ruling.
He pointed out that Pakistan had not intervened or offered support.
Judge Commandkhail asked: “If a woman is fighting alone in Kenya, why is the government reluctant to help her?”
The AAG argued that Pakistan was not given access to the crime scene, which was essential for investigation. He stressed that Pakistan could only become part of the case once the MLA agreement was completely implemented.
Judge Muhammad Ali Mazhar observed that the Suo Motu case had remained pending for years. The lawyer of Arshad Sharif requested a copy of the investigation report, which the AAG said that the media had already been leaked.
The Supreme Court postponed the hearing for a month, looking for an update on the approval of the agreement.
The journalist Arshad Sharif had entered a self -imposed exile and moved to Kenya after a series of cases against him in Pakistan.
His murder in October 2022 caused a legal battle in Kenya, which led to a court ruling that the police acted illegally in his death.
The case, initiated by Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, together with Kenya’s journalist groups, accused the senior police and legal officials of killing Sharif arbitrarily and illegally and not conducting proper investigation.
Sharif, an outstanding journalist, was shot in the head when the Kenya police opened fire against his vehicle, claiming that it was a case of wrong identity. His death attracted international conviction and renewed scrutiny about extrajudicial murders for Kenya’s security forces.
The issue of excessive police force and illegal murders in Kenya has been a long -standing concern for human rights groups.
