ISLAMABAD: A team set up by the Pakistani government to investigate the murder of a well-known Pakistani journalist in Nairobi said they found several contradictions in the version given by Kenyan authorities and believe it was a case of premeditated murder.
television journalist Arshad Sharif, who had fled Pakistan citing death threats, was shot dead in Nairobi in October. Kenyan officials said it was a case of mistaken identity and police chasing car thieves opened fire on his vehicle as it drove through a roadblock without stopping.
A two-member investigative team from Pakistan who traveled to Kenya and conducted a number of interviews, examined and reconstructed the crime scene and examined the phones and computers of the deceased, said in a report 600 pages that Sharif’s murder was a pre-planned event. murder.
“Both members of (the investigative team) have a considered understanding that this is a planned targeted assassination case with transnational characters rather than a case of mistaken identity,” says the report, copies of which have been submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. .
“It is more likely that the shot was made, after having aimed well, at a stationary vehicle,” he added.
Kenyan authorities declined to comment on the details of the report.
“The investigation into the case is still ongoing so there is not much I can say,” said Kenya National Police spokesperson Resila Onyango.
A multi-agency team is leading the investigation, he said, adding that the team will notify authorities when they have completed the investigation.
The chairperson of Kenya’s Independent Police Oversight Authority, Anne Makori, also told Reuters that investigations were still ongoing.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said before the report was released that Sharif’s body had bruises and torture marks, suggesting it was a targeted killing.
The investigation team highlighted one injury in particular on Sharif’s back, saying it appeared to have been inflicted from a relatively close distance.
The report noted that there were no corresponding bullet penetration marks on the seat Sharif was sitting on when the shooting allegedly took place, calling it a “ballistic impossibility”.
“The injury must have been caused either before the reporter got into the vehicle, or the shot was fired from a relatively close distance, possibly from inside the vehicle, and certainly not from a vehicle. moving,” the report said.
case of treason
Sharif had fled Pakistan citing death threats after the government registered several treason cases against him.
One of the cases of treason stemmed from Sharif’s whistleblowing which led to an accusation that he had broadcast a call from an official of a previous government, led by former cricket star Imran Khan, asking members armed forces to mutiny.
Sharif and the previous government official both denied inciting the mutiny.
Former Prime Minister Khan said Sharif was murdered for his work as a journalist. He and his successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, unrelated to the journalist, had called for a judicial inquiry.
The investigative team’s report also pointed to apparent contradictions in autopsy reports in Kenya and Pakistan.
The post-mortem report in Pakistan identified 12 wounds on Sharif’s body while the Kenyan report identified only two injuries related to gunshot wounds.
The investigation team’s report said the doctors believed the injuries could have been the result of torture or a fight, but this could only be established after verification by the doctor who carried out the examination. autopsy in Kenya.
television journalist Arshad Sharif, who had fled Pakistan citing death threats, was shot dead in Nairobi in October. Kenyan officials said it was a case of mistaken identity and police chasing car thieves opened fire on his vehicle as it drove through a roadblock without stopping.
A two-member investigative team from Pakistan who traveled to Kenya and conducted a number of interviews, examined and reconstructed the crime scene and examined the phones and computers of the deceased, said in a report 600 pages that Sharif’s murder was a pre-planned event. murder.
“Both members of (the investigative team) have a considered understanding that this is a planned targeted assassination case with transnational characters rather than a case of mistaken identity,” says the report, copies of which have been submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. .
“It is more likely that the shot was made, after having aimed well, at a stationary vehicle,” he added.
Kenyan authorities declined to comment on the details of the report.
“The investigation into the case is still ongoing so there is not much I can say,” said Kenya National Police spokesperson Resila Onyango.
A multi-agency team is leading the investigation, he said, adding that the team will notify authorities when they have completed the investigation.
The chairperson of Kenya’s Independent Police Oversight Authority, Anne Makori, also told Reuters that investigations were still ongoing.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said before the report was released that Sharif’s body had bruises and torture marks, suggesting it was a targeted killing.
The investigation team highlighted one injury in particular on Sharif’s back, saying it appeared to have been inflicted from a relatively close distance.
The report noted that there were no corresponding bullet penetration marks on the seat Sharif was sitting on when the shooting allegedly took place, calling it a “ballistic impossibility”.
“The injury must have been caused either before the reporter got into the vehicle, or the shot was fired from a relatively close distance, possibly from inside the vehicle, and certainly not from a vehicle. moving,” the report said.
case of treason
Sharif had fled Pakistan citing death threats after the government registered several treason cases against him.
One of the cases of treason stemmed from Sharif’s whistleblowing which led to an accusation that he had broadcast a call from an official of a previous government, led by former cricket star Imran Khan, asking members armed forces to mutiny.
Sharif and the previous government official both denied inciting the mutiny.
Former Prime Minister Khan said Sharif was murdered for his work as a journalist. He and his successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, unrelated to the journalist, had called for a judicial inquiry.
The investigative team’s report also pointed to apparent contradictions in autopsy reports in Kenya and Pakistan.
The post-mortem report in Pakistan identified 12 wounds on Sharif’s body while the Kenyan report identified only two injuries related to gunshot wounds.
The investigation team’s report said the doctors believed the injuries could have been the result of torture or a fight, but this could only be established after verification by the doctor who carried out the examination. autopsy in Kenya.
