Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court has formally closed its suo moto proceedings into the 2022 killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, ruling that continued judicial oversight is unnecessary as Pakistani and Kenyan authorities are actively pursuing the case through diplomatic and legal channels, including a mutual legal assistance agreement signed in December 2024.
In a judgment delivered following a January 14, 2026 hearing, Justices Aamer Farooq and Rozi Khan Barrech noted that no party had contested the findings of the federal fact-finding teams or the Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT), nor alleged any wrongdoing in Pakistan’s inquiry.
The court acknowledged delays stemming from the need to coordinate between two sovereign nations but concluded that sufficient steps had been taken to close the proceedings.
Sharif, a prominent journalist, was fatally shot by Kenya’s General Services Unit on October 23, 2022, on Losinyani Road in Kajiado County. Kenyan police said the Toyota Land Cruiser he was traveling in, registration KDG200M, failed to stop at a roadblock despite repeated warnings, prompting officers to open fire. The GSU had been deployed following a report of a stolen Mercedes vehicle.
Sharif had left Pakistan in August 2020 for Dubai and later moved to Kenya after being asked to leave the UAE. In August 2022, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter Terrorism Department issued a threat alert regarding his safety, although he was abroad at the time. Multiple FIRs were registered against him during his absence.
Following widespread shock over his death, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice on December 6, 2022, under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. An FIR (No. 987/22) was registered the same day at Ramna police station, Islamabad, under sections 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The federal government immediately constituted a five-member SJIT on December 7, 2022. The case was later transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court following the Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025.
The court highlighted the extensive steps taken by Pakistani authorities, including interviews with Sharif’s associates, coordination with UAE authorities regarding his departure, examination of the Kenyan case file in the presence of Pakistan’s High Commissioner, and engagement with the chief pathologist who conducted Sharif’s post-mortem.
A formal mutual legal assistance request was sent to Kenya on February 22, 2023, and signed on December 10, 2024, allowing for joint evidence collection, site visits, and interrogations. Pakistani Prime Minister also communicated with Kenya’s President to ensure transparent cooperation, while black warrants were issued against the alleged perpetrators for potential arrest and trial in Pakistan.
High-level diplomatic engagement included meetings between the SJIT and Kenyan officials, the Kenyan High Commissioner’s summoning by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, and discussions between Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
The court rejected a petition from Sharif’s widow requesting ongoing judicial supervision, citing settled jurisprudence that courts should not interfere in routine police investigations except in cases of malice, jurisdictional excess, or habeas corpus issues. Precedents cited included Ajmeel Khan v. Abdur Rahim (PLD 2009 SC 102) and Malik Shoukat Ali Dogar v. Ghulam Qasim Khakwani (PLD 1994 SC 281).
The bench also declined to direct the government to raise the matter at international forums, noting that such decisions fall under the executive’s foreign policy powers and that existing diplomatic channels under the mutual legal assistance framework were active. It referenced a prior Supreme Court order from February 2023 emphasizing that diplomatic processes should run their course.
Sharif’s family has separately filed a writ petition in Kenya’s High Court, currently under appeal before the Supreme Court of Kenya.
The court expressed grief over Sharif’s death and gratitude to all involved parties, while emphasizing that any grievances by Sharif’s legal heirs could be pursued through competent forums.
The suo moto proceedings are now formally closed.
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