Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: An MLA (Mutual Legal Assistance) agreement between Pakistan and Kenya has been finalised in the murder case of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.
The hearing of the case was conducted by a seven-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan. During the hearing, the Additional Attorney General (AAG) informed the court that the government of Pakistan and the government of Kenya had finalised the MLA agreement, and it would be signed tomorrow (Tuesday). AAG Amir Rehman further stated that he had not been able to submit the report, upon which the court directed him to submit it and adjourned the hearing. It is noteworthy that on October 23, 2022, Arshad Sharif was shot in the head by police on the Magadi Highway in Nairobi, Kenya.
Earlier, The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kenyan court’s Monday ruling that Kenyan authorities violated Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif’s right to life and that his death was arbitrary and unconstitutional.
“CPJ welcomes the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “While the verdict marks an important step towards ending impunity in this case, Kenyan authorities should ensure that genuine justice is achieved by prosecuting those responsible for Arshad’s fatal shooting.”
Sharif was shot and killed by police on the night of October 23, 2022, in a remote area outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in what police claimed was a case of mistaken identity. Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddique, who sued the Kenyan government, believes her husband was targeted for his journalism. Sharif had sought safety in Kenya after fleeing Pakistan in August 2022 following death threats over his reporting on corruption.
