In the issue of senior journalist Arshad Sharif’s assassination, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Friday mandated that the government provide a daily progress report.

A six-member constitutional panel led by Justice Aminuddin Khan heard the Arshad Sharif murder case on its own initiative. The judges on the bench were Justice Shahid Bilal, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

At the beginning of the hearing, the federal government asked for additional time to complete the agreement with Kenya on mutual legal assistance.

The president would ratify the agreement within a month, according to the extra attorney general.

The mutual legal assistance agreement with Kenya has already been inked, he said, and the ratification procedure is still under progress.

The SC questioned why the agreement, which was signed on December 10th, had not yet been approved and questioned the reason for the case’s postponement. Even after three months, additional time was being requested, the court said, raising questions about whether they should require a daily progress report.

The Interior Ministry’s joint secretary told the court that they had sent a memorandum requesting reciprocal legal aid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi said that going forward, the court should get a daily progress report. In the Arshad Sharif case, Justice Aminuddin Khan voiced worry about the protracted delay and questioned why so much time had gone by without any notable advancements.

Muhammad Ali Mazhar, a justice, asked who forwarded the report to the president.

After cabinet approval, the Ministry of Interior will forward the report to the president, the additional AG replied. The Ministry of Interior personnel are in court, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar said in response to his statement that he had been unable to get in touch with them.

The joint secretary told the court that on February 27, with cabinet permission, the message was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The question of whether the president could reject the accord was posed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. Regarding the issue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ legal adviser chose not to comment.

“The High Court in Kenya has ordered action against the officials involved in the murder,” said Javeria Siddique, the attorney for Arshad Sharif’s second widow, when she appeared in court. The government of Pakistan has not joined the case or offered any assistance, and the Kenyan government has appealed the ruling.

Justice Mandokhail remarked that the woman was fighting the case alone in Kenya, and asked what problem the government had in assisting her there.

The additional AG informed the court that the government did not have access to the crime scene and that becoming a party to the case would not solve the issue. Access to investigation is necessary, he added.

He further stated that access would only be possible once the mutual legal assistance agreement was in place. He mentioned that statements from over 30 people in Pakistan had already been recorded.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar noted that the suo motu case had been pending for several years.

The lawyer representing Arshad Sharif’s mother argued that the government had conducted a fact-finding investigation and requested a copy of the report.

The additional AG responded that the entire issue had already been created before the fact-finding report appeared in the media.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing of the Arshad Sharif murder case for one month.