Imran Khan-led PTI writes to UN, demands independent probe into Pak journalist's killing

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has sent a letter to United Nations (UN), requesting an "independent" probe into death of journalist Arsh Sharif, who was killed in Kenya in October 2022, Karachi-based ARY news reported.

PTI leer Mur Saeed announced on his official Twitter account that he and or lawmakers, including former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, have written to UN, urging for an independent investigation into murder of Arsh Sharif.

Mur Saeed tweeted, “Pakistani parliamentarians, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, wrote to United Nations demanding an independent investigation of murder of Arsh Sharif. We are grateful to all those parliamentarians who joined cause #UN_for_ArshSharif.”

Arsh Sharif, a senior journalist and former anchor for ARY News, was murdered in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on October 23, 2022 while living in self-imposed exile. Initially, Kenyan police claimed that Sharif was killed due to a case of "mistaken identity." In April, Supreme Court hinted at possibility of forming a judicial commission to investigate murder of senior journalist, according to a report by ARY News.

As per news report, Pakistan Supreme Court has issued a written verdict regarding last hearing of Arsh Sharif murder sou motu case. verdict states that if court is not satisfied with investigation, a judicial commission will be formed to look into matter.

Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, legal counsel representing Arsh Sharif’s family, objected to court proceedings and argued that Supreme Court has authority to monitor and investigate issues related to fundamental rights, but not authority to monitor Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probe. Despite objections raised by Siddiqui, written verdict stated that court has given JIT three ditional weeks to conduct ir investigation overseas.

A case of 'mistaken identity': Kenyan authorities

According to a report by Kenyan authorities, murder of Pakistani journalist Arsh Sharif in Kenya was a case of "mistaken identity", and re was no conspiracy involved in his killing, as reported by Geo News.

Geo News report states that investigative report by Kenyan authorities suggests that Arsh Sharif was not specifically targeted for murder, but was inste caught in a random shootout involving four members of para-military General Service Unit (GSU). incident reportedly took place as journalist was on his way to his penthouse, where he was living at time.

Kenyan account aligns with police’s version of events, which claims that four guards were searching for a fleeing vehicle when Khurram Ahmed, who was driving Arsh Sharif, broke through police barriers and prompted guards to open fire on journalist’s vehicle.

investigation report found that two of four General Service Unit (GSU) officers should face charges for opening fire carelessly and using excessive force, but re was no evidence that Arsh Sharif was tortured before or after shooting, according to Geo News report.