Who was Arshad Sharif, the Pakistani journalist shot dead in Kenya?

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a tweet on October 24 that he had contacted Kenya’s Prime Minister William Ruto regarding the incident and its investigation.

Just had a telephonic call with Kenyan President William Ruto about the tragic death of Arshad Sharif in 🇰🇪. I requested him to ensure fair & transparent investigation into shocking incident. He promised all-out help including fast-tracking the process of return of the body to 🇵🇰

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 24, 2022

Imran Khan spoke about Sharif in glowing terms, calling the incident a “target killing” in a recent speech.

Chairman PTI @ImranKhanPTI talks about Shaheed Arshad Sharif pic.twitter.com/2yPBVkQxSe

— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 25, 2022

He said on Twitter that Sharif “paid the ultimate price for speaking the truth — his life”. Imran alleged that Sharif’s “murder” had “highlighted an ongoing targeting of anyone who dares to criticise or question those holding power”.

Arshad Sharif's murder has sent shockwaves across Pak. It has highlighted an ongoing targeting of anyone who dares to criticise or question those holding power.When will our senior Judiciary act to ensure our citizens fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution are protected

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 24, 2022

What happened in Kenya?

Kenya’s The Star reported Sharif was in the town of Magadi, south of the capital Nairobi. He was in a car that failed to stop at a random police roadblock. According to reports, the Kenyan police were on the lookout for a similar vehicle, which they claim had been linked with a child kidnapping case. When the vehicle did not stop, they fired multiple rounds at it, killing Sharif.

It was not known why Sharif was in Kenya as he usually spent time in Dubai and London, a report in The Guardian quoted his friends as saying.

A statement released by the National Police Service of Kenya said “a foreigner namely Arshad Mohammed Shariff, a Pakistani national aged 50 years was fatally wounded by a police officer while a passenger in a motor vehicle KDG 200M”.

The statement said the “deceased was in company of his brother namely Khurram Ahmed”. The incident “follows a circulation from Pangani Police of a stolen motor vehicle. The officers trailing the motor vehicle towards Magadi alerted police in Magadi who erected a road barrier”.

PRESS STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/jDsqmQtzlb

— National Police Service-Kenya (@NPSOfficial_KE) October 24, 2022

Who was Arshad Sharif?

Arshad Sharif, 49, had worked most recently as a host on the ARY network. According to The Guardian, he was once close to the military establishment, but of late had begun criticising it. ARY was taken off air for some time due to Arshad Sharif’s show, which was alleged to have been spreading “anti-military sentiment”.

The Pakistani police had booked Arshad Sharif, a producer, and some others from the network for sedition following a controversial interview on the network by a PTI leader and an aide of Imran Khan, Dr Shahbaz Gill.

ARY announced in August this year that it was parting ways with Arshad Sharif. In a statement, the network said, “ARY Network’s code of conduct for its employees clearly states that any post by an employee on social media has to be in accordance with the company’s policy. Thus, with a heavy heart we would like to announce that after a journey of 8 years together, ARY has parted ways with Arshad Sharif.”

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) termed the comments in the Shahbaz Gill interview as tantamount to inciting “armed forces towards revolt”. The PTI attacked the case against Gill and alleged the police had tortured him.
What happens now?

In a video message released from Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that a judicial commission would investigate Arshad Sharif’s killing. The commission would determine the facts of the “tragic incident in a transparent and conclusive manner”, he was quoted as saying by Dawn.

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Dawn also reported that Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar had said the Pakistani military has requested the government to conduct a “high-level investigation” into the “accidental” killing of the journalist.

In an interview with 24 News, Iftikhar said: “It is very unfortunate that people indulge in allegations […] and I think a thorough investigation needs to be conducted to tackle these things. I believe that the probe should not just be into these things but also on why Arshad Sharif had to leave Pakistan.”