ISLAMABAD — The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday closed the suo motu case concerning the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, ruling that judicial intervention in the ongoing investigation was not permissible under Pakistani law.
The court noted that the matter was being addressed through diplomatic channels, and a mutual legal assistance (MLA) agreement between Pakistan and Kenya had already been implemented. Authored by Justice Aamer Farooq, the 14-page judgment disposed of all pending applications while acknowledging the nation’s grief over Sharif’s death.
The FCC emphasized that any specific grievances by Sharif’s legal heirs could be pursued in courts of competent jurisdiction. It noted that both Pakistan and Kenya were coordinating actions under their respective laws, including the formation of a joint investigation team, issuance of black warrants, and diplomatic contacts facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The court stressed that directing the federal government to represent the matter internationally would amount to interference in an ongoing investigation and encroach on foreign policy, a domain best handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Article 40, which mandates fostering friendly international relations.
Sharif was shot by Kenyan police near Nairobi on October 23, 2022, after leaving Pakistan amid sedition cases. The FCC concluded that the government’s ongoing efforts and the family’s legal remedies in Kenya made further judicial involvement unnecessary at this stage.
