The Federal Constitutional Court has fixed December 3 as the date for the next hearing in the Arshad Sharif murder case. The proceedings will be led by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Rozi Khan.
The case was shifted to the constitutional court after the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which moved all suo motu cases from the Supreme Court to the newly formed court. Although the Supreme Court initially took suo motu notice of the journalist’s killing, the revised legal structure now places these matters solely under the Federal Constitutional Court. This marks the first major hearing since the shift in jurisdiction.
Earlier in July, Deputy Judge Richard Spearman KC of the London High Court stated that Pakistan’s official fact-finding report on Sharif’s death in Kenya does not point to ISI involvement, despite Adil Raja’s defence basing arguments on that claim. In a defamation case involving retired Brigadier Rashid Naseer and Raja, the judge noted that the 600-page report contains no direct evidence against the agency. He dismissed the attempt to link ISI through assumptions, emphasizing that conclusions must rely on proof. The court also questioned the reliability of Raja’s alleged sources, noting that such accusations need solid documentation.
In September 2023, an Islamabad court suspended the case after key witnesses repeatedly failed to appear. Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah wrote that despite multiple chances, no witness recorded a statement, prompting the court to halt the proceedings and send the file to the record room.
Also Read: SC hints at forming Judicial Commission in Arshad Sharif’s killing case
