The mother of slain Pakistan journalist, Arshad Sharif, has claimed the plan to assassinate her son was hatched in her home country and executed in Kenya.
Ms Riffat Ara Alvi has filed an application at the Pakistan Supreme Court seeking an “independent and transparent investigation” into the death of her son.
Mr Sharif, 49, was shot dead in October last year by officers attached to the General Service Unit (GSU) in what the National Police Service (NPS) said was a case of mistaken identity.
“That being the mother of Arshad Sharif now deceased, the applicant feels that investigations of the case have to be conducted and proceeded with in Pakistan at the first instance where conspiracy to kill my son was hatched,” states the court documents filed on June 6.
The prominent Pakistan journalist was being driven from Kajiado to Nairobi, where he lived with a friend known as Khurram Ahmed, when he was killed on the night of October 23, 2022.
The vehicle they were driving in was flagged down by the police but the driver allegedly ran over a roadblock, leading to the deadly shooting that ended his life.
They were from attending a party at Ammodump Kwenia, an entertainment joint and shooting range in Kajiado County.
A five-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, will conduct the hearings.
Ms Riffat says in the filings that she was disturbed that so many people had sensationally claimed that the people who wanted her son dead were well known.
She says that there is a need for her team of lawyers to be handed access to the fact-finding inquiry report and findings that were submitted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was tasked with unravelling the matter when it happened last year.
The JIT, comprising of Islamabad Police DIG Headquarters Awais Ahmed and four other members namely Muhammad Aslam from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Murtaza Afzal from the Military Intelligence (MI), Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Waqaruddin Syed, and Sajid Kayani of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) visited Kenya as they carried out the investigations.
Ms Riffat, in the court documents, lists five people she wants to be joined in the investigations, claiming that they would be of great help.
She lists former Pakistan Prime Minister Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, two former ministers identified as Mr Murad Saeed and Mr Salman Iqbal who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ARY media where the slain journalist worked before he fled his home country and a journalist identified as Mr Imran Riaz Khan.
“That, in order to conclude the fair investigation, it is incumbent upon the JIT team to examine these persons along with others making claims to this effect,” she says in the petition, adding that the request was purely made for the purposes of getting justice.
Ms Riffat’s lawyer Raja Abdul Ghafoor also signed an affidavit of facts saying that the matter was urgent.
This is the second time the mother of the slain journalist has come out publicly over the murder of her son.
In November last year, just a month after the death of her son, Ms Riffat demanded the formation of a high-powered Judicial Commission to investigate the death.
She wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umer Ata Bandial demanding an inquiry into the murder.
“Only by knowing the real motive and criminals and bringing them to justice would end the agony of Arshad Sharif’s family and his journalist fraternity. Otherwise, I rest my case to Allah waiting for his justice,” the aggrieved mother said.
She added that she had hope that the letter would receive due attention given the gravity of the case.
Mr Sharif left his home country on August 10, 2022 and took refuge in Dubai, but was ordered to leave the country or face expatriation back to his home country.
He requested a grace period of two days as he worked out his next move before contacting his former boss at ARY Media, Mr Iqbal, who then linked him up with Mr Waqar Ahmed, a Pakistan national who runs a the Ammodump Kwenia.
Ms Riffat said that her son had informed them of what had happened in Dubai and that was how he landed in the country and started living with the new friends in Nairobi County.
