Islamabad: A joint investigation team constituted to probe the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif questioned PTI leader Murad Saeed and his lawyer related to the case on Tuesday.
The special joint investigation team (JIT) called PTI leader and the lawyer for cross-questioning and recording their statement. Murad Saeed had claimed that he has evidence related to Arshad Sharif’s murder.
In a press conference in November, Mr Saeed claimed that he had all evidence about what happened with Mr Sharif during the last seven months of his life, who threatened him, registered FIRs against him and forced him to move to Kenya.
He added if the chief justice formed a commission as requested by the late journalist’s mother, he will present the evidence before it.
The federal government constituted the five-member SJIT on the orders of the Supreme Court. Awais Ahmad, the Islamabad DIG Headquarters heads the team which comprise of officers from the Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, FIA and IB.
Earlier, a fact-finding team — formed by the federal government, comprising FIA and IB officers — to probe the murder also called Mr Saeed for questioning. However, he refused to appear before it.
In a letter written to FIA Director Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed and IB Deputy Director General Omer Shahid Hamid, who were part of the two-member team, Mr Saeed said they were answerable to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and thus could not hold an independent and transparent inquiry.
In his letter, Mr Saeed said the government’s seriousness could be gauged from the fact that Mr Sharif’s mother had to invoke the jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court to even get the post-mortem report of her son from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad.
