ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to Kenyan President William Ruto over the phone on Monday, requesting him to offer cooperation to Pakistani authorities investigating the killing of a senior journalist outside Nairobi last year.
Arshad Sharif, who worked with a local news channel as an analyst and talk show host, was shot by the police in the East African state on October 23. The Kenyan authorities described the incident as a case of “mistaken identity,” adding it took place when the journalist’s vehicle sped up and drove through a checkpoint.
However, an official fact-finding team, which visited Nairobi after Sharif’s assassination, raised questions about the police narrative while calling the slain journalist victim of a “planned and targeted assassination.” Pakistani investigators also maintained they were not getting enough cooperation from Kenyan officials which was impeding their probe.
“The Prime Minister emphasized that Pakistan attached great importance to the late Arshad Sharif’s case and requested for further cooperation from the Kenyan side during the course of investigation in bringing the matter to a closure for the family and people of Pakistan,” Radio Pakistan said while reporting the conversation between the two leaders.
“The Kenyan President assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of full support and cooperation in the matter,” it added.
The slain Pakistani journalist started to criticize the incumbent administration of his country – along with its military establishment – after the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan from power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last April.
Subsequently, a number of criminal cases were registered against him in different districts, forcing him to leave Pakistan and travel to the United Arab Emirates in August before flying to Kenya.
Sharif’s killing not only sent shockwaves through the local media community but also made free speech groups around the world call for a fair and impartial probe into the murder.