The federal government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that a new joint investigation team (JIT) has been formed to probe the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. The special JIT is led by DIG Headquarter Islamabad Police Awais Ahmed and has 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), says in media reports.

The five-member bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, also instructed the new investigation team to submit a progress report before the next date of the hearing. Justice Bandial said that the apex court wants an honest and impartial investigation and expressed hope that progress will be made in different areas of the investigation.

The Foreign Office (FO) secretary also submitted a report in which he detailed different means through which the investigation team can be facilitated by the ministry. "The government will fully fund the JIT," said Additional Attorney General Chaudhary Amir Rehman. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, however, pointed out that no timeline is being given to the JIT for the completion of the task. The apex court then adjourned the hearing till the first week of January.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP