Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked Kenya’s president on Monday to ensure that the probe into the death of journalist Arshad Sharif in a “mistaken identity” police shooting was fair, just, and timely.
According to a Kenyan police report, Sharif was gunned down in Kenya on Sunday night when police, tracking down a jacked car, opened indiscriminate fire on the journalist’s car, mistaking it for the stolen vehicle, which was also suspected to be carrying a minor hostage, when it sped through a manned roadblock without stopping.
“I just spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto on the unfortunate death of Arshad Sharif in Kenya.” I asked him to conduct a fair and honest inquiry into the tragic occurrence. He offered complete assistance, including
“He offered complete assistance, including expediting the process of returning the remains to Pakistan,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Earlier, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of Information, paid a visit to the dead journalist’s family to express his condolences for their loss.
Aurangzeb promised Sharif’s family that the government would not relent until justice was done.
“Sharif was about an hour away from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. According to early reports, Kenyan police waved Sharif’s automobile to a halt,” the communications minister told media outside Sharif’s house in the federal capital.
The minister warned against unfounded conjecture and emphasised the need of waiting for the Kenyan government’s formal investigation into the unfortunate tragedy.
“Sharif’s body has been positively identified. Prime Minister has issued official directives for the interior to dig into the matter, tasking the relevant authorities to repatriate the remains of the journalist as soon as possible,” the minister said adding,” Nothing can be said with certainty before Kenya’s official response to the matter”.
She also added that this matter was beyond politics. “Using this issue to make any political gains is tantamount to sin we don’t want to commit,” she said.
The information minister said further details would be shared as received in an hour.
