ISLAMABAD: An FIR (first information report) of murder of Arshad Sharif was registered in Islamabad’s Ramna police station on Tuesday evening.
The hosts of Arshad Sharif in Kenya, Waqar Ahmed, Khurram Ahmed, and Tariq Ahmed Wasi — have been nominated in the FIR.
SHO of Ramna Police Station Rasheed Ahmed lodged the complaint.
The FIR invoked sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
According to FIR, the murder took place in Kenya on October 23. The complainant_ SHO Rasheed Ahmed said that he reached the PIMS hospital on the night of October 26 when Arshad Sharif’s body reached there and a postmortem examination was carried out there.
He said the medico-legal officers handed over four parcels of evidence to the police.
Arshad Sharif died due to the firing of ammunition, FIR added.
Reaction of wife of Arshad Sharif
Javeria Siddique, wife of slain journalist Arshad Sharif has raised the question that ‘why the FIR was registered on the complaint of the police and why were the family members of anchorperson ignored?
Meanwhile, the FIR has been registered on the order of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. A five-member larger bench of the apex court ordered the government to register an FIR of Arshad Sharif’s murder today. The court also directed the government to submit report of the fact-finding committee in the court on Wednesday.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto of the murder case on Tuesday and started hearing of the case.
A five-member, led by CJP Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the case on Tuesday.
The CJP said, “The journalist community in Pakistan and general public are deeply concerned about the killing of Arshad Sharif in Kenya,” said the Supreme Court in a statement after taking suo moto of the case.
The court had issued notices to the interior secretary, foreign secretary, information secretary, director generals of the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), Intelligence Bureau, and president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
Chief Justice Bandial asked from the Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman about the report of the fact-finding committee.
“We are waiting for the report for the past 43 days,” CJP said.
“Do we call here the interior minister and where is he?” asked the CJP.
“Wasting time in the investigation is the government’s habit, not the Supreme Court’s,” said the CJP in response.
CJP stated that Arshad Sharif was a renowned journalist/anchorperson in Pakistan.
“Why was Arshad Sharif murdered, and in a foreign country?” asked the CJP.
CJP also said, “Mr attorney general it’s been a long time since the fact-finding committee has returned, why was the report of the commission not provided to the Supreme Court?”
Before adjourning Tuesday’s hearing, the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to submit FIA’s report and a copy of the FIR _ to be registered today.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
