Pakistan spy chief Nadeem Anjum and Director General (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday held an unprecedented joint press conference over the mystery surrounding the killing of senior Pakistan journalist Arshad Sharif.
Arshad Sharif, who was living in hiding after allegedly receiving death threats for his critical reporting, was shot dead by law enforcement in Kenya on October 24. Arshad, who worked for numerous media outlets, was an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s government.
“Since Arshad was an investigative journalist, he also looked into the cypher issue when it surfaced,” DG ISPR was quoted as saying by Geo News. “Facts linked with the cypher and Arshad Sharif’s death need to be found. So there is no ambiguity left in this regard,” he added.
Arshad Sharif was gunned down in Kenya allegedly by the local police on Sunday night, though the police later in a statement expressed regret on what they called an “unfortunate incident.” Kenyan media had initially quoted the local police as saying that Arshad Sharif was shot dead by the police in an incident of “mistaken identity.”
Pak media reports say the frequent change in statements by the police in Kenya has created doubts in the minds of people back home. Former Pakistan prime minister chief Imran Khan alleged that Arshad was a “targeted killing” for exposing the two key political families of Sharif and Zardari.
Paying tribute to the slain journalist, former prime minister Imran Khan claimed that Arshad Sharif was killed in a “targeted attack” as he was a true professional who had exposed the two political families and their corruption in his television programmes with proof, The News International reported.
Besides PTI, a number of journalists and several media organisations strongly condemned Arshad’s killing and called on both the Kenyan and Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation to bring those responsible to justice.