Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday penned a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial seeking the constitution of a full-court commission to probe the Kenya killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif.
In his letter, the prime minister stressed on the need to probe what compelled Arshad to leave Pakistan, what procedure had been employed on this account, were authorities cognisant of any threat to him, were any steps taken to ensure his safety, why did he leave the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Kenya and what actually transpired when he had been shot.
Shehbaz also wrote about how the federal government would extend full support to the commission and had been probing Arshad’s killing already, separately. The prime minister also stressed the need for an impartial probe to ensure public trust.
Sharif, a popular journalist, was killed in Kenya on October 23. Local police billed Arshad’s killing a case of ‘mistaken identity’ while social media was rife with accusations. His wife Javeria, separately, reiterated calls for the family’s right to privacy be respected. Kenya media, separately, has not been buying the police version (of events). Kenya police, while earlier claiming the journalist was attacked after the vehicle he was travelling in failed to stop at a picket on Tuesday tweaked the version presented earlier. The force, in its latest stance, said Arshad had been killed in an exchange of fire.
