Islamabad: Slain journalist Arshad Sharif’s dead body arrived in Islamabad in the early hours of Wednesday and was handed over to family members.
In a tweet, Javeria Siddique, Arshad’s wife, said that she tried to wake him up, but he was in a coffin with noor on his face.
Finally I reunite with my husband @arsched after months but he was in coffin and noor smile on his face. I try to wake-up him up but no response.
— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) October 25, 2022
The funeral prayer of Arshad Sharif will be offered at Faisal Masjid Islamabad at 2 pm on Thursday. Later, he will be laid to rest at the H-11 cemetery in the federal capital.
شہید ارشد شریف کی نماز جنازہ جمعرات کی دوپہر 2 بجے فیصل مسجد اسلام آباد میں ادا کی جائے گی۔ اس نے وفا کا اپنا حق ادا کیا اب آپ کی باری ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/wZNjuBhyGI
— Imran Riaz Khan (@ImranRiazKhan) October 26, 2022
Arshad Sharif was shot dead in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday night which, according to the Kenyan police, was a case of “mistaken identity”. In a statement, the Kenyan police said Sharif was gunned down when police, tracking down a jacked car, opened indiscriminate fire on the journalist’s automobile mistaking it for a stolen vehicle.
However, both Pakistani and Kenyan journalists are not buying the statement given the infamous history of the Kenyan police.
Brian Obuya, a Kenyan investigative journalist, tweeted that Arshad Sharif’s vehicle was shot nine times.
Further details now show that #arshadShariff motor vehicle was shot at NINE times. FOUR of those bullets to the left side of the vehicle. One bullet deflated the right side tyre. pic.twitter.com/gLq6awMhuL
— Brian Obuya (@ItsBrianObuya) October 24, 2022
In another tweet, Brian said: “The fatal shot that killed [Arshad Sharif] was fired with precision through the rear mirror of the car, penetrated through the back of his head, and exited through the front side.”
UPDATE|| The fatal shot that killed #arshadSharif was fired with precision through the rear mirror of the car, penetrated through the back of his head and exited through the front side. pic.twitter.com/PIuEnVbXqV
— Brian Obuya (@ItsBrianObuya) October 24, 2022
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that he had decided to form a judicial commission to investigate the tragic death of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Nairobi, Kenya.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said that he had decided to form a judicial commission to determine the facts of the tragic death of the renowned journalist transparently and conclusively.
I have decided to form a Judicial Commission to hold an inquiry into the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in order to determine the facts of the tragic incident in a transparent & conclusive manner.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 25, 2022
Similarly, the Pakistan Army has also asked the Government of Pakistan to conduct a high-level probe into the tragic killing of the journalist.
“We have requested the government to hold a high-level investigation so that all these speculations can be put to rest,” Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said.
Additionally, the Foreign Office of Pakistan has said that the government is actively engaged with the Kenyan authorities and has officially asked Kenya to launch an investigation into the incident.
