Imran Khan-led PTI writes to UN, demands independent probe into Pak journalist's killing

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has sent a letter to the United Nations (UN), requesting an "independent" probe into the death of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was killed in Kenya in October 2022, Karachi-based ARY news reported.

PTI leader Murad Saeed announced on his official Twitter account that he and other lawmakers, including former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, have written to the UN, urging for an independent investigation into the murder of Arshad Sharif.

Murad Saeed tweeted, “Pakistani parliamentarians, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, wrote to the United Nations demanding an independent investigation of the murder of Arshad Sharif. We are grateful to all those parliamentarians who joined the cause #UN_for_ArshadSharif.”

Arshad Sharif, a senior journalist and former anchor for ARY News, was murdered in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on October 23, 2022 while living in self-imposed exile. Initially, Kenyan police claimed that Sharif was killed due to a case of "mistaken identity." In April, the Supreme Court hinted at the possibility of forming a judicial commission to investigate the murder of the senior journalist, according to a report by ARY News.

As per the news report, the Pakistan Supreme Court has issued a written verdict regarding the last hearing of the Arshad Sharif murder sou motu case. The verdict states that if the court is not satisfied with the investigation, a judicial commission will be formed to look into the matter.

Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, the legal counsel representing Arshad Sharif’s family, objected to the court proceedings and argued that the Supreme Court has the authority to monitor and investigate issues related to fundamental rights, but not the authority to monitor the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probe. Despite the objections raised by Siddiqui, the written verdict stated that the court has given the JIT three additional weeks to conduct their investigation overseas.

A case of 'mistaken identity': Kenyan authorities

According to a report by the Kenyan authorities, the murder of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya was a case of "mistaken identity", and there was no conspiracy involved in his killing, as reported by Geo News.

The Geo News report states that the investigative report by Kenyan authorities suggests that Arshad Sharif was not specifically targeted for murder, but was instead caught in a random shootout involving four members of the para-military General Service Unit (GSU). The incident reportedly took place as the journalist was on his way to his penthouse, where he was living at the time.

The Kenyan account aligns with the police’s version of events, which claims that the four guards were searching for a fleeing vehicle when Khurram Ahmed, who was driving Arshad Sharif, broke through police barriers and prompted the guards to open fire on the journalist’s vehicle.

The investigation report found that two of the four General Service Unit (GSU) officers should face charges for opening fire carelessly and using excessive force, but there was no evidence that Arshad Sharif was tortured before or after the shooting, according to the Geo News report.