PM Shehbaz urges Kenyan president to conduct unbiased, quick probe into killing of Arshad Sharif

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday communicated to the Kenyan president that an “unbiased, just, and quick” investigation into the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif be ensured.

Arshad Sharif was gunned down at the Nairobi-Magadi highway in Kenya after allegedly violating a roadblock. According to a senior Nairobi police officer, police were directed to intercept a car involved in a carjacking in Nairobi’s Pangani area in which a child was taken hostage, which was similar to the one Arshad Sharif and his driver were driving.

PM Shehbaz tweeted on Monday that he had a telephonic call with Kenyan President William Ruto about the death of Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

The premier stated that he had requested the Kenyan head of state to make sure that a fair and transparent investigation is carried out into the incident.

PM Shehbaz said that Ruto promised “all-out” help including “fast-tracking the process of return of the body to Pakistan”.

Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb visited the family of the murdered journalist to condole with the over their loss. She told the family that the government would not stop at anything until justice was ensured.

The information minister said while speaking to journalists that Sharif was travelling an hour’s distance from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The minister also warned against unwarranted speculations, and said that we should wait for the official investigative stance of the Kenyan government.

She stated that Sharif’s body had been identified and that the prime minister had given orders for the interior ministry to investigate the matter, and had tasked relevant authorities to bring back the body of the journalist as soon as possible.

She said that the issue should not be politicised.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority Chairman Anne Makori, while addressing a press briefing, said that on the evening of October 23, Pakistani journalist Arshad Muhammad Sharif, 50, was shot by the Kenyan law enforcement within the limits of Kajiado County.

She stated that their rapid response team had been dispatched, and that a probe was underway.

Moreover, the Foreign Office has stated that the government of Pakistan was in active engagement with Kenyan authorities at multiple levels for the return of Sharif’s mortal remains.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan High Commission in Nairobi are reported to be in constant communication to facilitate and fasten the process.

Acting Foreign Secretary Raza Bashir Tarar has also met the Kenyan high commissioner in the federal capital to emphasise the urgency of the matter and return of mortal remains.