By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the government will set up a judicial commission to investigate the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in a police shootout in Kenya.
“I have decided to form a Judicial Commission to hold an inquiry into the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in order to determine the facts of the tragic incident in a transparent & conclusive manner,” PM Sharif said in a Twitter post.
Later in a video message, PM Sharif said “…we will form a high-level judicial commission to investigate the matter, and will put in a request for an Islamabad High Court judge for this”.
Outspoken journalist Sharif was shot and killed on Sunday night by Nairobi police while living in hiding in Kenya. Nairobi police said it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case.
Journalist Sharif fled Pakistan in August due to sedition charges leveled against him for allegedly criticizing state institutions including the military.
The Kenya Union of Journalists as well as political and journalist groups in Pakistan, however, cast doubt over the police’s version of events.
“From the police record there is more than meets the eye in the death of Mr. Sharif and we demand thorough investigations to unravel the motive of the shooting,” the Kenya Union of Journalists said in a statement.
Former prime minister Imran Khan also claimed that the slain journalist was a victim of a targeted killing.
“He (Sharif) knew his life was in danger. He knew he was repeatedly getting warnings… No matter what people say, I know this was targeted killing,” Khan said at a lawyers’ convention in Peshawar.
“… I received information that they were about to kill him. … I advised him to leave the country.”
Sharif, who was once considered close to the military establishment, turned into a fierce critic after the removal of Khan’s government in April.
Major General Babar Iftikhar, the military spokesman, also requested the government to conduct a “high-level investigation” into the death of Sharif.
“It is very unfortunate that people indulge in allegations … and I think a thorough investigation needs to be conducted to tackle these things. I believe that the probe should not just be into these things but also on why Arshad Sharif had to leave Pakistan,” Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) (DG) told a private television channel.
“It is important to find answers over who forced Sharif to leave Pakistan, where did he live all this time, and what the circumstances leading to this incident,” the general said.
“Because in all these stages, unfortunately, allegations are leveled at the end of the day, and institutions are accused. So this speculation has to be put to rest and it has to come to an end.”
The interior minister constituted a three-member team to investigate the murder. The team comprising Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director Athar Wahid, Intelligence Bureau (IB) deputy director general Omar Shahid Hamid and Lt Col Saad Ahmed of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will immediately visit Kenya and after investigating the killing will present its report to the interior division, said an official notification.
Moreover, the Islamabad High Court (IHC), during a hearing of a petition seeking an investigation into Sharif’s killing through a commission, directed the government to take the journalists’ community on board during the inquiry.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has also urged Kenya to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of journalist Sharif, and share the findings with the public.
“I saw this tragic report of his death. I think the circumstances need to be investigated thoroughly, and the Kenyan authorities said they would,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General told journalists in New York.
At a Monday afternoon news briefing in Washington, Spokesperson Ned Price reiterated the US administration’s call for “a full investigation by the government of Kenya” into Sharif’s death because “it’s not entirely clear … what led to his death.”
“And it’s clear through his work that Arshad Sharif was dedicated to that fundamental right of freedom of expression. His work was known around the world,” Price said.
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