The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday disposed of a suo motu case regarding the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, observing there is no need for any judicial interference when the law and investigation are taking their due course.
The journalist was shot dead by Kenyan police in October 2022. Authorities had initially described it as a case of “mistaken identity.” In July 2024, the Kajiado County High Court found police acted unlawfully and ordered the government to pay 10 million Kenyan shillings in compensation.
In a 14-page ruling, a two-member bench of Justices Aamer Farooq and Rozi Khan Barrech noted that Pakistan and Kenya had inked a mutual legal assistance agreement and were coordinating at the diplomatic level to implement it. As such, they said, authorities of both countries were taking appropriate action under their respective laws.
“Two sovereign nations are involved, each handling the matter in accordance with their respective laws,” read the judgment, adding the suo motu proceedings were being disposed along with all pending applications in the journalist’s murder case.
“We acknowledge and share the grief felt by our nation and the journalist community over the death of our citizen,” it said, observing the legal heirs of Sharif remained free to seek relief from any court of competent jurisdiction should they have a specific grievance regarding the matter.