ISLAMABAD: A global media rights organization on Wednesday called for an independent international investigation into a Pakistani journalist’s murder in Kenya last year in October after two UN special rapporteurs wrote to the Pakistani and Kenyan authorities to highlight their inability to cooperate and conduct any serious investigation.
Arshad Sharif was shot and killed by the police in the African state that said his vehicle had sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Later, the police authorities expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case.
Sharif, who became increasingly critical of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment after the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan from power in April 2022, decided to leave his country just a few weeks before his murder to avoid arrest on charges of maligning state institutions. He briefly spent some time in the United Arab Emirates and ultimately arrived in Kenya.
The UN special rapporteurs took up the issue with the Pakistani and Kenyan authorities in October this year, mentioning the circumstances in which Sharif had to leave Pakistan and deploring lack of serious investigations in both countries.
“The letters from the UN experts are unequivocal,” Arnaud Froger, head of Reporters Without Border’s investigation desk, said. “There has been a clear lack of will on the part of both Kenya and Pakistan to establish the precise circumstances of this journalist’s murder and identify those responsible.”
“At this stage, the preliminary investigation in Kenya has been botched and the investigation by the Pakistani security services has been very one-sided,” he added. “In view of the presumed involvement of the security forces of both countries in this murder, only an independent international investigation would be able to establish the facts. This is what RSF fervently seeks.”
The statement added that its own investigation into the matter highlighted many inconsistencies and biases in the Kenyan and Pakistani investigations, and the lack of cooperation between the two countries in their desultory efforts to identify those responsible.
The media rights organization maintained that international law required the investigation to be prompt, effective and thorough, independent and impartial, and transparent, adding the preliminary probe of Sharif’s murder seemed to satisfy none of these elements.
Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddique, also filed a lawsuit against Kenyan police in October.
International media rights organization seeks independent probe into Arshad Sharif’s murder in Kenya
https://arab.news/gpbq7
International media rights organization seeks independent probe into Arshad Sharif’s murder in Kenya
- Sharif, a prominent Pakistani journalist, was shot and killed by police outside Nairobi in what was called a case of ‘mistaken identity’
- Reporters Without Borders says the investigation of the case has neither been prompt nor effective, thorough and transparent
Pakistan’s top military commander hails Saudi defense pact as ‘historic’ at scholars’ conference
- Asim Munir says Pakistan has a unique bond with the Kingdom, citing the ‘honor’ of helping safeguard the holy sites
- He says only the state can declare jihad, urging religious scholars to counter extremist narratives and promote unity
ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defense Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday described the country’s joint security pact with Saudi Arabia as a “historic” milestone, telling a gathering of religious scholars that Pakistan and the kingdom share a deep strategic relationship.
Signed in September, the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement has solidified decades of Saudi–Pakistan defense cooperation, covering intelligence-sharing, counterterrorism and regional stability.
The two nations have long coordinated on defense matters, with Pakistani military personnel deployed in the Kingdom.
“The defense agreement [with Saudi Arabia] is historic,” he said in an address to the conference in the federal capital.
The top military commander said Pakistan regarded its connection with the Kingdom as unique.
“Among all Muslim countries, Allah has given Pakistan the honor of helping safeguard the Haramain,” he continued, referring to the two holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madinah.
Munir used his speech to warn against extremism, saying that under the Islamic framework, only the state could declare jihad, a pointed reference to groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which claims to act in the name of religion while carrying out attacks on civilians and security forces.
“When nations abandon knowledge and the pen, disorder takes hold,” he said, urging the religious scholars to help keep society unified and to “broaden the nation’s vision.”
Munir also criticized India, describing “terrorism” as “India’s habit, not Pakistan’s.”
His remarks came months after a four-day military confrontation in May, during which the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged artillery and missile fire and deployed drones and fighter jets.
India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir before launching a missile attack. Islamabad denied involvement and called for an international probe.
Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian fighter jets before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect.
“We do not hide when confronting the enemy,” Munir said. “We challenge openly.”
