Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday lashed out at former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for “using” the tragic killing of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif for “petty politics”.
Arshad Sharif, a strong supporter of Imran Khan, was shot dead in Kenya on October 23. The death of the journalist sent shock waves across rights organisations, the media fraternity and civil society and prompted calls for thorough investigation and disclosure of facts.
“Imran Niazi is playing a dangerous game. He is using tragic killing of Arshad Sharif for petty politics & going to the extent of casting aspersions on state institutions,” PM Shehbaz wrote on his official Twitter handle.
The incumbent premier asked the deposed prime minister to be patient and wait for the findings of the judicial commission instead of resorting to baseless allegations.
A day earlier, the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan Army wrote to the government to form an inquiry commission for the investigation into the death of the journalist.
The chief military spokesperson told the media that the military had also requested the government to set up a high-level commission to investigate Arshad Sharif’s killing and take legal action against those hurling allegations without any proof.
The murder
Arshad Sharif, who fled the country after he was charged with sedition, died in Kenya’s Nairobi after reportedly being shot.
According to the Kenyan police, the journalist was fatally wounded while travelling in a car along with his brother Khurram Ahmed in the Magadi area, 40 kilometres from the capital Nairobi.
Kenyan national police spokesman Bruno Shioso said the journalist was shot dead by an officer after his car drove through a police barrier. “It is then that they were shot at, fatally injuring late Arshad Mohammed Sharif,” he said.
According to a police report seen by AFP, the car carrying the two men was struck by around nine bullets, but continued on to the home of another Pakistani national. There, Sharif was found to be dead “with a gunshot wound on the head which had penetrated from the back”.
The report said that the police at the time had been on the lookout for a stolen car and an abducted person and had set up a makeshift roadblock. Earlier this month, the Kenyan president had vowed to disband a police unit accused of extrajudicial killings.
The 49-year-old journalist fled the country in August to avoid arrest after he was slapped with multiple cases, including sedition charges over an interview with PTI leader Shahbaz Gill during which the latter had made controversial comments.
Alleging threats to his life, Sharif had moved to Dubai in August and later relocated to Kenya.
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