Outspoken Pakistani scribe killed in Kenya
Nairobi, October 25
A senior Pakistani journalist living in hiding in Kenya was shot and killed by the police after the car he was in sped up instead of halting at a roadblock near Nairobi, the police said on Monday.
The Kenyan police expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a case of child abduction.
Arshad Sharif (49), a former reporter and TV anchor with ARY TV, left Pakistan in July to avoid arrest over criticising the South Asian country’s powerful military. He was also a critic of the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who has repeatedly said he believed in freedom of the media.
On Monday, Sharif spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto and asked him to ensure a fair and transparent investigation into the journalist’s killing, according to a government statement.
The Nairobi police said Arshad Sharif was shot in the head and killed Sunday night after the car he was in with his brother, Khurram Ahmed, drove through a roadblock set up on the Nairobi-Magadi highway to check vehicles along the key route. They were traveling from the town of Magadi to the Kenyan capital.
The two ignored police orders to stop and sped up. “They did not stop and proceeded with the journey,” the police said. The police opened fire and laid chase, during which the car flipped over.
Sharif’s wife Javeria Siddique confirmed that her husband was killed in Kenya. His brother’s condition was not immediately known.
“I lost a friend, husband and my favourite journalist today. As per the police, he was shot in Kenya,” Javeria Siddique tweeted on Monday. — Agencies
Case of mistaken identity: Police
A senior Kenyan police officer said: “We had an incident of shooting which turned (out) to be a case of mistaken identity involving a journalist. We will release more information later.”
