Senior Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, who was recently assassinated in Kenya, had been tortured before he was shot in the head and right lung from point-blank range, Dunya TV has reported.
The autopsy report has revealed that Arshad Sharif was forced to come out of his car, and was tortured for about three hours, which is indicated by his plucked-out fingernails and two broken fingers.
Along with the above-mentioned signs of torture, he also had several other marks that hinted at physical assault on the assassinated journalist, the report further disclosed.
Moreover, he was forced to kneel on the road before being shot at the back of his head and the right lung from the front at point-blank range. Meanwhile, forensic evidence from the bullets angles has confirmed that the car was immobile.
Following the assassination, he was placed back in his vehicle seat in order to depict it as a case of ‘mistaken identity.’ Note here that all of Arshad Sharif’s post-mortem reports have been completed apart from one, which may come out after a week.
Separately, the News cited CCTV footage of the incident and concurred that the slain journalist was shot from a close range.
According to the video, nine rounds were fired at the car, Toyota Land Cruiser V8. Two bullets, as confirmed by the autopsy report and footage, killed Arshad Sharif. Interestingly, the first bullet to his head was fired at close range.
It is pertinent to mention that two of the nine bullets directly struck Arshad Sharif, whereas six of the nine were fired in his direction. On the other hand, three of them missed the driver of the vehicle, Khurram Ahmed, who remained unharmed during the horrific shootout.
I am shameful. My Muslim and fellow country brother went through this horrific treatment before his demise. I am further shameful that after his death I am sitting in office and making comments. Life is as usual but my heart hurts.
I wish I could inflict the same pain to the people responsible but those responsible are high ups in the system. I hope the long march could bring some change.