Sharif had gone into self-imposed exile in August 2022 following a spate of cases against him in Pakistan. He moved to Kenya, where he was shot dead by the Kenyan police in October 2022 in an apparent case of mistaken identity.
The high-profile case, once handled by the Supreme Court under its suo motu jurisdiction, migrated to the FCC after the 27th Constitutional Amendment reshaped the judicial landscape, transferring authority over constitutional and suo motu matters to the newly minted court. A two-member bench comprising Justices Aamir Farooq and Rozi Khan Barrech conducted the proceedings.
An order issued today, authored by Justice Farooq, noted that Pakistan and Kenya had signed a mutual legal assistance agreement and were coordinating at the diplomatic level to implement it.
“We are of the view that the authorities of both countries are taking appropriate action under their respective laws. Therefore, there is no need for any judicial interference in this regard when the law and investigation is taking its due course.
“In light of the aforementioned discussion, the instant suo moto action is disposed of. Accordingly, all pending applications are also disposed of,” the order said.
It said it acknowledged and shared the “grief felt by our nation and the journalist community over the death”.It further noted that “in case the legal heirs of Mr Sharif have any specific grievance in the matter they can approach the court(s) of competent jurisdiction.”
In a statement on X, journalist’s wife Javeria Siddiqui said the injustice and grief over Arshad’s killing had broken her, adding that the government’s inaction and silence were “deafening”.
“I had to take matters into my own hands, reaching out to the Kenyan court and the rapporteur’s office in my personal capacity,” she added.
Javeria said the court’s decision had deeply disappointed her. “This case was a test for press freedom in Pakistan and getting justice for a citizen hounded in three countries, brutally killed. A black day indeed,” she said.
The injustice and grief of Arshad’s killing has broken me. The government’s inaction and silence is deafening. I had to take matters into my own hands, reaching out to the Kenyan Court and rapporteur office in personal capacity. Today, the court’s decision disappointed me deeply.… pic.twitter.com/kXPbAN9ypm
— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) February 3, 2026
Arshad Sharif murder case timeline
Sharif — who had fled Pakistan after being charged with sedition — was shot dead in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2022. The 49-year-old left the country in August 2022 to avoid arrest after multiple cases were registered against him, including sedition charges linked to an interview with PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, during which Gill made controversial comments.
Kenyan police said in a statement that Sharif was shot dead in a case of “mistaken identity” while he was travelling to Nairobi from Magadi. A subsequent police statement expressed “regrets on the unfortunate incident” and said the case was being investigated.
Two days after the killing, interior ministry formed a two-member team — comprising officials from the FIA and the IB — to probe the murder.
In November 2022, the two-member Pakistani investigation team travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to determine the facts surrounding Arshad’s killing.
In December 2022, the fact-finding team concluded that Arshad’s death was a planned and targeted assassination carried out by transnational actors, and not a case of mistaken identity, as Kenyan police had claimed earlier.
According to the team’s report, the “transnational roles” of individuals in Kenya, Dubai, and Pakistan could not be ruled out. “The four GSU (General Service Unit) police officials and OC GSU Training camp had been used as instruments in this case under influence, either financial or some other compulsion,” the report said.
It also said the Kenyan police account of “mistaken identity” contained contradictions, and that statements given by GSU officers contradicted one another.
In December 2022, then chief justice Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu notice of the murder and ordered the interior secretary to register an FIR over the “brutal killing”.
In June 2023, the then attorney general of Pakistan told the SC that Kenya’s high commissioner had informed the government that signing a mutual legal assistance (MLA) instrument was necessary for further proceedings.
He said Kenya had sent a draft, which was being shared with relevant institutions for their input, and added that he would update the court on it.
In March 2025, the government informed the SC’s Constitutional Bench that a mutual legal assistance agreement had been signed with the Kenyan government in connection with the murder case of Sharif, and was in the process of ratification.
Last November, the high-profile case was transferred to the FCC after the 27th Constitutional Amendment reshaped the judicial landscape, shifting authority over constitutional and suo motu matters to the newly created court.