ISLAMABAD: A retired Pakistani judge, who was nominated by the government to head an inquiry commission to probe journalist Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya, told the federal authorities on Sunday his three-member team would not be able to proceed with the assignment.
The commission was announced at the beginning of the month to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Sharif’s death in the East African state.
The government appointed a retired Lahore High Court judge, Abdul Shakoor Paracha, as its head while nominating additional inspector general Dr. Usman Anwar and Intelligence Bureau deputy director general Omar Shahid Hamid to assist him.
However, the retired judge said it was not possible for the commission to proceed since the mother of the slain journalist had already “expressed dissatisfaction” with the investigation mechanism.
“She has already moved an application to the [Honorable] Chief Justice of Pakistan seeking justice,” he said in a statement shared with journalists. “A member of the Commission [Omar Shahid Hamid] had already visited Nairobi and it is not legally sustainable that he can be part of the commission based on his previous findings. Finally, no representative of the media was part of the commission which in my thinking is necessary so that the justice is not only served but is seen when done so.”
Sharif, who did a talk show with a local news channel, was killed on October 23 when his car sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital, prompting the police to open fire.
The law enforcement officials in Nairobi expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a car involved in a child abduction case.
Prior to that, the deceased journalist, who of late had been a harsh critic of the incumbent government and the military, had to leave the country after several cases related to charges of sedition and others were filed against him.
He was believed to have been in the United Arab Emirates since he left Pakistan, though he then traveled to Kenya from the Emirates.
Sharif’s mother, in a recent letter to the chief justice of Pakistan, demanded a “high-power judicial commission” to “determine the real motive and identify criminals behind this heinous crime.”
She also criticized how the government was dealing with her son’s killing.
“The Prime Minister in his statement had made an announcement that a letter will be written to Islamabad High Court to appoint a high-power judicial commission,” she continued. “However, unfortunately, contradictory to his statement one retired Justice Abdul Shakoor Piracha and two federal government officials have been made members of the commission which indicates malafide intentions of the government.”
The retired judge also said in his statement the prime minister had announced to let the chief justice constitute a commission in Sharif’s killing.
