- The report further acknowledged that the police mentioned 'fingernails' taken for DNA samples but did not specify how many.
- This ruled out earlier claims the journalist was tortured before being killed
Image: FACEBOOK/ARSHAD SHARIF
A team of Pakistani investigators has concluded that the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kajiado County was a “planned assassination”.
Sharif who was critical of Pakistan’s army and was on the run was killed when police shot at his car on October 23, 2022.
Police then said they regretted the incident as it was a case of mistaken identity that happened as they searched for a car that was involved in an abduction.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Wednesday an investigation and promised the government’s findings would be shared with the public.
In a new twist of events, Islamabad police charged two Pakistani businessmen living in Kenya, who had hosted Sharif with involvement in his killing
Two brothers Khurram and Waqar Ahmed hosted Sharif when he was in Kenya for almost two months before he met his death.
Pakistani media cited the report saying it claims Kenyan police issued contradictory statements following the killing.
The report suggested the bullet that fatally wounded Sharif was fired from either inside the car or from close range.
The report suggests that transnational individuals from Pakistan, Kenya, and Dubai cannot be ruled out.
As part of the probe, two Pakistani officials had travelled to Kenya where they met with police and Sharif’s hosts, brothers Khurram and Waqar.
According to the report, Khurram told the investigators he had been in the car with Sharif at the time of the shooting, travelling home after dinner.
They saw the roadblock, which Khurram believed to have been set up by robbers and as they sped through, he heard the fatal gunshots.
Khurram said he then called his brother who advised that he keep driving until they reached the family’s farmhouse, about 20 kilometres away.
Once at the house, the brothers found Sharif was already dead.
Khurram's statements were found contradicting to facts as no bullet marks were found on Sharif's car seat.
The 50-year-old journalist was living in exile after he fled the country in August to avoid arrest in the wake of multiple cases, including sedition charges, slapped against him for making comments on his show deemed offensive to the military.
The two brothers are yet to talk officially to the media since the incident happened.
A friend who had talked to them quoted them saying they were not involved in the shooting and they fear for their lives for now.
The report according to the Pakistan media says the Kenyan police were apparently “used as instruments” in the killing, possibly with financial or other compensation – again, without elaborating or offering evidence to support the accusation.
“This was a planned, targeted assassination … rather than a case of mistaken identity” as the Kenyan police claimed, the report said.
It did not blame anyone specifically, saying only that individuals in Kenya, Dubai or Pakistan may have had a role in the slaying.
Sharif had stayed in Dubai after leaving Pakistan in August and before travelling on to Kenya.
The report further acknowledged that the police mentioned 'fingernails' taken for DNA samples but did not specify how many.
This ruled out earlier claims the journalist was tortured before being killed.
The report said according to local media, "Keeping in view the apparent differences in the two post-mortem reports, there is no concrete evidence to establish that Arshad Sharif was tortured before the killing."
Kenya insists the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which is leading the probe said their findings so far show police were involved in the shooting.
IPOA chairperson Anne Makori said their findings have shown the General Service Unit were involved in the shooting.
She added they are yet to get information on the claims of the torture on the deceased man.
“As far as we are concerned, the GSU personnel were involved in the shooting. We have so far found out the journalist died out of a gunshot wound in the head,” she said.
She added the authority is conducting investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s shooting.
The authority submitted weapons recovered from police involved in the shooting to ballistic experts to tell more on the shooting.
IPOA will then make recommendations on the way forward when the probe is complete, said Makori.