PFUJ decides to become party, forms five-member committee in Arshad case

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has decided to become a party in the senior journalist Arshad Sharif’s assassination case and formed a committee. After the leaking of graphic photos of Arshad Sharif’s body and post-mortem reports, the PFUJ has decided to become a party in the assassination case.

According to the declaration, a delegation headed by PFUJ President Afzal Butt held a detailed meeting with the slain journalist’s mother, wife and his children.

The delegation members included Secretary Finance Lala Asad Pathan, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) President Abid Abbasi, Secretary Finance Kashan Akmal, National Press Club (NPC) President Anwar Raza, Vice-President Maira Imran, Secretary Finance Nayyar Ali and Joint Secretary Talat Farooq.

Sharif’s mother apprised the PFUJ delegation about the registration of cases against her son, Sharif’s letters to different authorities to seek protection and the reasons for his departure from Pakistan and Dubai.

Moreover, the delegation was also informed about the difficulties being faced by the family to get his post-mortem report and death certificate. Sharif’s mother expressed hopes that the killers of her son will be exposed through the efforts of the PFUJ. After the meeting, the journalist’s union formed a five-member committee headed by president Afzal Butt.

The other members of the committee will include Secretary General Arshad Ansari, Secretary Finance Lala Asad Pathan, RIUJ President Abid Abbasi and NPC President Anwar Raza.

It is pertinent to mention here that the family has still not received the post-mortem report but a private TV channel’s anchor received graphic images of the martyr’s body this week upon which the anchor claimed that Sharif was tortured for hours before being killed, a claim contradicted by Kenyan journalists.

One of the top investigative journalists of Pakistan, Arshad Sharif was shot dead on the outskirts of Kenya’s Nairobi city on October 23.

He had worked for the country’s top news channels and newspapers in the past. He was awarded ‘Presidential Pride of Performance’ for his exceptional journalism in the year 2019.

His show ‘Power play’ was one of the most-watched talk shows in Pakistan and people loved the way Arshad came up with stories regarding the ruling elite’s corruption and wrongdoings with strong evidence. (NNI)