UN demands detailed probe into death of journalist who was critical of Pakistan's military

The UN has demanded a probe into the death of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif. According to Pakistan's newspaper Dawn, he was killed on Monday by the Kenyan police. Kenyan authorities have stated that he was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity. The family of Arshad Sharif who lives in Pakistan have not accepted this claim and has requested an independent inquiry. 

The United Nations has now urged the Kenyan authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the death of Arshad Sharif. "I saw this tragic report of his death. I think the circumstances need to be investigated thoroughly and the Kenyan authorities said they would," said Stephane Dujarric, the official spokesperson for UN Secretary-General. The United States has also condemned the death of the journalist. US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that "we are deeply saddened by the death of Arshad Sharif". 

Why was the Pakistani journalist in Kenya?

"It is not entirely clear we know all the circumstances at this point regarding what led to his death, but we urge a full investigation," said the State Department Spokesperson. According to information disclosed by the International Federation of Journalists, Sharif and his brother violated a security roadblock set up by the Kenyan authorities by driving through it, which resulted in Kenyan police shooting 9 rounds of bullets at the car, one of which struck the journalist's head.

Sharif was in Kenya because he had to flee away from Pakistan. He had to flee from Pakistan because numerous sedition charges were filed against him in different states of Pakistan. He had taken refuge in Kenya as he was getting death threats in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis considered Sharif an investigative journalist. He was respected in his home country because he crossed a line in Pakistan that few dare to - he talked about corruption in the military. Kenyan journalists reporting on the incident have questioned the claims of the police and asked how it is that he was shot in the head just because his driver drove through a roadblock. Shots in the head are generally a sign of targeted assassination. “The killing of Arshad Sharif… is all the more baffling since he had just left his home country to Kenya in order to escape harassment and arrest. In May, he was charged with “spreading hate against the military,” said France-based global watchdog Reporters Without Borders, as per a report by VOA.