A court in Islamabad on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for slain television news anchor Arshad Sharif's widow and the producer of his show.
The widow of the television personality, who was gunned down in Kenya last year, said she learnt of the warrants through the media and had not received any notice from the court.
In the Islamabad District and Sessions Court on Saturday, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah issued the warrants against Sharif's widow and the producer of his television show for their continued non-appearance and non-compliance with the court's summons and orders to record their testimonies and thus obstructing court proceedings.
However, Sharif's wives told the media they had no knowledge about the court issuing the summons.
In an interview, Summaiyya, Arshad's first wife, told the media that she had not received any summons from the court and was completely unaware she had to appear before the court.
She added that she did not know about the arrest warrant until she heard about it on television. She added that the FIR for her husband's murder overseas was filed on the state's request but not on the application she and the family had filed.
She added that the only case she was aware of was the suo moto taken by the Supreme Court and that she had attended all of the hearings in that case.
Non bailable arrest warrants have been issued against my mother, Somiya Arshad. Ye kaisa nizam hai jahan mazloom ko hi kataihray main khara kiya ja raha hai#ArshadShareefShaheed #ArshadSharif #SomiyaArshad
— Aleeza Arshad (@aleezasherryy) September 9, 2023
Similarly, his second wife, Javeria, said she had no knowledge about the case or its details.
She said that she had not received any summons from the court. However, images of the summons circulating on social media appeared to carry the correct address.
She added that this was another attempt to silence the victim's family.
This is victimisation as I never received any summons and but i have seen on social media my house address is mentioned in it. This is harassment and another attempt to silent the family of slain journalist Arshad Sharif. This is a privacy breach why again and again my personal… https://t.co/KIqYT2IeDw
— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) September 9, 2023
In a second post, she said, "There is no justice for Arshad Sharif and family. Endless Suffering."
There is no #JusticeForArshadSharif and family.
— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) September 9, 2023
Endless Suffering đź’” pic.twitter.com/m6470caqq0
Meanwhile, ARY News President Ammad Yousaf, in a message posted on social media site X (formerly Twitter), said that the summons and warrants were issued in a case based on an FIR which the victim's family had rejected.
Arshad Sharif Murder Case: Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah issued non bailable arrest warrants of Arshad Sharifs wife Summaiya Arshad and his producer Ali Usman. The Magistrate is hearing case based on an FIR rejected by the family since day one.
— Ammad Yousaf (@AmmadYousaf) September 9, 2023
The family has no idea about…