Numerous international organizations including Reporters sans frontières – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have refuted Kenyan Police’s ‘mistaken identity’ claims about the assassination of a prominent Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, near Nairobi.
RST tweeted that Arshad, a fierce critic of its country’s military, was shot dead with two bullets last night in Kenya, in unclear circumstances. It also demanded an international investigation into this gruesome and utterly disturbing murder.
📢 🇵🇰#Pakistan's journalist #ArshadSharif (@arsched), a fierce critic of its country's military, was shot dead with two bullets last night in 🇰🇪#Kenya, in unclear circumstances. #RSF calls for an international investigation into this gruesome and utterly disturbing murder. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/0tuwl6eEXm
— RSF (@RSF_inter) October 24, 2022
Similarly, The Foreign Press Association, Africa has also raised questions over the circumstances in which renowned journalist was killed earlier today.
OUR STATEMENT:
The Foreign Press Association, Africa is deeply disturbed by the killing, in Kenya, of renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif. Particularly worrying are the circumstances in which the journalist met his tragic death.#ArshadSharif pic.twitter.com/tPZDi7JD79
— The Foreign Press Association, Africa—FPAA. (@FPA_Africa) October 24, 2022
Kenya Editors’ Guild also condemned the tragic death of the journalist and demanded a fair investigation to nab the culprits involved in the gruesome murder.
The Kenya Editors Guild statement on the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Mohammed Shariff in kenya. #ArshadSharif pic.twitter.com/6d4g3kM5ui
— Kenya Editors’ Guild (@KenyaEditors) October 24, 2022
The statements came after an initial police report claimed that the policemen shot the 49-year-old journalist while he was traveling in a mobile vehicle, which they believed to have been stolen.
It is pertinent to mention that Sharif was a vocal critic of sensitive Pakistani institutions and supported former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, after he was controversially removed from his office.
Following the incident, Kenya’s Police watchdog, Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), stated that it dispatched a rapid response team to the crime scene in Kajiado County.
Furthermore, IPOA’s Chairman, Ann Makori, briefed a presser and said that the team will probe into the purported police killing of the Pakistani journalist.
After the incident, the Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, also took to Twitter and expressed his sorrow and sadness over the tragic killing of Arshad Sharif.
I am deeply saddened by the shocking news of journalist Arshad Sharif's tragic death. May Allah SWT grant him a place in Heaven. My deep condolences and prayers for the bereaved family.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 24, 2022
