President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Abid Zuberi has said that advocacy and journalism go hand in hand, adding that the investigation system was weak and flawed which is why the judiciary is not able to deliver and punish the culprits.
He said this while addressing the Shaheed Arshad Sharif conference held on the International Day of Journalists at the National Press Club in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Zuberi said that he used to watch Arshad Sharif’s program for research purposes. He added, “We are talking about the commission of Arshad Sharif murder case, observing that the result of such commission is nothing.”
He further said what happened to Hamudur Rahman commission report and murder investigation reports from Liaquat Ali Khan to Benazir Bhutto.
He urged the journalist community to raise their voice on every forum if they are not satisfied with Arshad Sharif Commission.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has attributed the International Day of Journalists to the name of martyred journalist Arshad Sharif. The 2nd of November is marked as the International Day of Journalists across the world.
On the occasion, PFUJ Secretary General Arshad Ansari paid rich tribute to Arshad Sharif and said that about 1560 journalists have been killed in the world so far and no murderer has been punished except in one case as per a UNICEF report.
He lamented that Hamid Mir Commission Report has not been published so far, adding that the mother of Arshad Sharif had rejected the government’s commission formed to probe the murder case of Mr. Sharif.
Ansari demanded that a high-level powerful commission be constituted for the investigation of the Arshad Sharif murder case and the commission should be headed by a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
He further demanded that forensic of the Arshad Sharif’s mobile phone and laptop should be conducted in China instead of in Pakistan and USA as the forensics in China has become the most advanced forensics in the world today.
He added that the Arshad Sharif Commission Report must be made public.
The President of the National Press Club Anwar Raza on this occasion said that journalist organizations would have to find causes and motivations of journalists’ murders, leaving aside reconciliation.
He urged the Government of Pakistan to write a letter to the UNO for the investigation into the murder of Arshad Sharif. He observed that when a UNO commission could have been made for the investigation into the assassinations of Benazir Bhutto and Rafiq al-Hariri so why not for Arshad Sharif’s murder case?
Senior journalist Kashif Abbasi said that Arshad Sharif had written letters to the President of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of Pakistan and informed them about the threats to his life.
17 sedition cases were registered against Shaheed Arshad Sharif, lamenting that people were saying that there was no threat to him despite the fact he was murdered in a foreign country.
A programme was also organised in Karachi to mark the International Day of Journalists and on the occasion, a rich homage was paid to Shaheed Arshad Sharif.
