The mother of slain journalist Arshad Sharif, who was killed in Kenya in October, wants former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General Nadeem Anjum to be nominated in the FIR regarding her son’s death.
In a letter to the Chief Justice of Paksitan Umar Ata Bandial sent on Tuesday, Riffat Ara Alvi, the mother of Arshad Sharif, requested that General Bajwa, Gen Nadeem Anjum, Gen Faisal Naseer, Brig Muhammad Shafiq Malik, Brig Faheem Raza, Col Nouman and Col Rizwan be named in the FIR along with Khurram and Waqar Ahmed for the ‘targeted, premeditated, planned and calculated murder’ of her son.
In her letter, she detailed how Arshad Sharif, who she said had previously been on ‘very good terms’ with Pakistan’s military, became critical of the army after the vote-of-no-confidence against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.
“He gathered evidence and started questioning the powerful military circles COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum specially when he did a program “Woh Kon Tha” on 31st May 2022 on ARY Channel,” she said, adding that this is when he first started receiving threats from Brig Shafiq Malik of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“There after Arshad started mentioned about him in various tweets as “Ganja Shaitan” (to subtly point towards him as Brig Shafiq is bald) and then later from Brig Fahim Raza of ISI who even called him in ISI Sector HQ Islamabad to convey message of Maj Gen Faisal Naseer DG (C) ISI,” she wrote.
She said that Arshad was warned numerous times that if he did not stop speaking out against the military he would be ‘fixed’ and would have to face dire consequences. She said that before fleeing to Dubai on 10th August 2022, Sharif told them that if anything happens to him, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Maj Gen Faisal Naseer, Brig Muhammad Shafiq Malik, Brig Faheem Raza, Col Rizwan and Col Nouman will be responsible.
