ISLAMABAD :An Islamabad district and sessions court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for slain journalist Arshad Sharif’s widow, Summaiya Arshad, and the producer of his programme on ARY News, Ali Usman.
The warrants were issued over non-compliance with court summons and the witnesses’ repeated failure to appear before the court to record their testimonies in the murder case of Sharif, who was shot dead in Kenya in October last year.
However, Summaiyya — Arshad’s first wife — claimed while speaking to ARY News that the court had not issued a summon to her.
She further said she had no knowledge of the arrest warrant before the media reported the news.
“I am finding out from the media and no one told me that non-bailable arrest warrants were issued against me,” she said.
Summaiya added that the FIR of her husband’s murder was registered on the state’s complaint and not the one filed by his family.
“So I don’t know about this case or its details. I only [know] of the Supreme Court’s suo motu notice case on Arshad’s murder and I was present and available on all of its dates,” she said.
Sharif’s second wife, Javeria Siddique, also denied receiving any summons from the sessions court.
“This is victimisation as I never received any summons but I have seen on social media my house address is mentioned in it. This is harassment and another attempt to silence the family of slain journalist Arshad Sharif,” she posted on social media platform X.
