Nairobi — Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah now says investigations have revealed that the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif more than two weeks ago in Kenya was targeted and not a case of mistaken identity as claimed by authorities.
Sharif was shot in the head when a vehicle he was traveling in was shot at by police manning a roadblock in Kajiado on October 23 in a shocking incident that elicited mixed reactions from both countries.
According to the National Police Service (NPS), officers opened fire on the vehicle when the driver defied orders to stop after being flagged down, killing Sharif and injuring a man identified as Khurram Ahmed, a Pakistani national who was accompanying Sharif.
“It was a case of mistaken identity,” a senior police officer said, “police at a roadblock were looking for another vehicle that had been circulated.” Police said in a statement issued a few hours after his death.
However, Pakistan’s interior minister said Tuesday that a report from the investigative team deployed in Kenya to probe the matter points to a targeted murder.
Pakistan deployed three military intelligence officers to Kenya to lead investigations into the death of journalist Sharif.
The team included Pakistani Police Deputy Inspector General Athar Waheed, Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Omar Shahid Hamid, and lieutenant Saad Ahmed.
Sanaullah said further investigation into the incident was required to determine the circumstances behind the death of the journalist who had fled his country, adding that the Pakistani government has requested more information from Kenyan authorities.
“We have sought briefing from the inquiry team which visited Kenya and from the information they gave, it looks like this was a targeted attack, and not a case of mistaken identity,” Sanaullah told a press conference in Islamabad.
Following his killing, the Pakistani government called for speedy probe with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif having a phone call with Kenya’s President William Ruto over the incident.
Kenya is yet to issue an official statement on the progress of the investigations.