ISLAMABAD: An investigation team constituted to probe the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif quizzed PTI leader Murad Saeed and a lawyer related to the case on Tuesday.

Sources close to the special joint investigation team (SJIT) told Dawn that the PTI leader and the lawyer were called in for statements and cross-questioning.

Mr Saeed was called due to his claims of having evidence related to Mr Sharif’s murder.

In a press conference in November, Mr Saeed claimed that he had all evidence about what happened with Mr Sharif during the last seven months of his life, who threatened him, registered FIRs against him and forced him to move to Kenya.

He added if the chief justice formed a commission as requested by the late journalist’s mother, he will present the evidence before it.

The five-member SJIT was constituted by the federal government on the orders of the Supreme Court. The team, headed by Islamabad DIG Head­quarters Awais Ahmad, comprises officers from the Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, FIA and IB.

Earlier, a fact-finding team — formed by the federal government, comprising FIA and IB officers — to probe the murder also called Mr Saeed for questioning. However, he refused to appear before it.

In a letter written to FIA Director Dr Muhammad Athar Wah­e­­ed and IB Deputy Director General Omer Shahid Hamid, who were part of the two-member team, Mr Saeed said they were answerable to Interior Mi­­nister Rana Sanaullah, and thus could not hold an independent and transparent inquiry.

In his letter, Mr Saeed said the government’s seriousness could be gauged from the fact that Mr Sharif’s mother had to invoke the jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court to even get the post-mortem report of her son from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022