ISLAMABAD: An international organization for media freedom has said in a recent statement the credibility of Pakistan’s civilian institutions is at stake as the country probes the killing of a high-profile journalist in Kenya 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 authorities in Nairobi 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.
Sharif harshly criticized the incumbent government and the country’s military establishment after the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan from power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote. 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.
“Three months after Arshad Sharif’s brutal murder, the mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death is more impenetrable than ever,” said Daniel Bastard, the Asia-Pacific head of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “After managing to retrace his movements during the three months preceding this tragedy, we ask the investigators to leave no leads unexplored regarding the motives for the murder and to coordinate better with the Emirati and Kenyan authorities manifestly involved.”
“The reliability of the results of the investigation and, therefore, the credibility of Pakistan’s civilian institutions are at stake,” he added.
Sharif mentioned threats to his life before leaving his country.
An official fact-finding team, which visited Kenya after the journalist’s assassination, raised questions about the narrative of the Kenyan police while calling Sharif the victim of a “planned and targeted assassination.”
RSF said it had carried out its own research and wanted the Pakistani authorities to “focus on the possible motives for Arshad Sharif’s murder, which have until now been neglected.” It added his last few television talk shows could help the investigators identify potential suspects.
“The governments of Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya should sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with regard to this case, so that the investigators have complete freedom to track how Arshad Sharif spent his time, to identify those he spoke to, and to assess the pressures to which he was subjected in the weeks leading up to his murder,” the statement continued.
It also maintained the country’s ex-premier Khan should also be questioned “about his role in this affair,” adding he should clarify his statement that he advised Sharif to leave Pakistan.
RSF asked the country’s authorities to interview Sharif’s employer, Salman Iqbal, to establish “what information was in his possession and what was or was not done to protect Sharif after he had been the target of legal proceedings and death threats.”
The statement added that RSF supported the idea of seeking assistance by the United Nations to continue the probe.
Credibility of Pakistani institutions at stake over probe of journalist’s killing in Kenya – RSF
https://arab.news/43gps
Credibility of Pakistani institutions at stake over probe of journalist’s killing in Kenya – RSF
- Reporters Without Borders says mystery surrounding Arshad Sharif’s murder ‘more impenetrable than ever’
- The international organization supports the idea of taking United Nations assistance to continue the investigation
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
- Tirah Valley residents started fleeing homes this month ahead of a planned military operation against militants
- Reports aimed at creating alarm among public, disinformation against security institutions, says information ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Sunday denied reports the army has ordered depopulation in the northwestern Tirah Valley ahead of a planned anti-militant offensive, stating that any movement of residents from the area is voluntary.
The denial from the government comes as residents of Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan flee their homes ahead of a planned military operation by the army against militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.
Despite major military operations in the mid-2010s, Tirah Valley has remained a stronghold for insurgents, prompting authorities to plan what they describe as a targeted clearance.
“The government has taken notice of misleading claims in circulation regarding alleged ‘depopulation’ from Tirah Valley on the orders of the Army,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) said in a statement on Sunday.
“These assertions are baseless, malicious, and driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating alarm among the public, disinformation against security institutions and furthering vested political interest.”
The ministry said Pakistan’s federal government and the armed forces had not issued directives for any such depopulation of the territory. It clarified that law enforcement agencies are “routinely conducting targeted, intelligence-based operations strictly against terrorist elements” with care to avoid disruption to peaceful civilian life.
It said locals are increasingly concerned over presence of the “khawarij,” a term the military and government frequently use for the TTP, in Tirah Valley and desire peace and stability in the area.
The information ministry mentioned that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department issued a notification on Dec. 26 last year for the release of funds, reportedly Rs4 billion [$14.24 million], for the “anticipated temporary and voluntary movement of population from certain localities of Tirah.”
It also said that the notification mentioned that the deputy commissioner of Khyber District, where Tirah Valley is located, said the voluntary movement of people reflects the views of the local population articulated through a jirga at the district level.
“Hence any stated position of the Provincial Government or their officials being conveyed to media that the said migration has anything to do with the Armed Forces is false and fabricated,” the information ministry said.
“Given with malafide intent to gain political capital and unfortunately malign security institutions and therefore highly regrettable.”
The evacuation has exposed tensions between the provincial government, run by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the military establishment over the use of force in the region.
“We have neither allowed the operation nor will we ever allow the operation,” KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said earlier this month, arguing that past military campaigns had failed to deliver lasting stability.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry has previously defended security operations as necessary as militant attacks surge in the country.
In a recent briefing, Chaudhry said security forces carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations nationwide last year, including more than 14,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, attributing the surge in violence to what he described as a “politically conducive environment” for militants.
