Pakistan: Committee to Investigate Journalist's Killing
Pakistan's federal government has formed a three-member, high-level committee to investigate the killing of a senior Pakistani journalist and former anchor, Arshad Sharif, in Kenya on Sunday.
Facts
- Pakistan's federal government has formed a three-member, high-level committee to investigate the killing of a senior Pakistani journalist and former anchor, Arshad Sharif, in Kenya on Sunday.
- Committee members represent the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and will travel to Kenya to assist the Pakistani High Commission in the probe.
- Groups in Pakistan and members of the UN called for the investigation. Kenyan police have said the 49-year-old journalist’s killing was a case of “mistaken identity."
- According to Kenyan media, Sharif was shot by police after allegedly violating a roadblock established to intercept a car involved in a carjacking and abduction of a child in Nairobi. The kidnapper's car was reportedly similar to Sharif's.
- Sharif is one of Pakistan's top news anchors and had a show critical of the country's military. He fled the country in August after cases were filed against him for interviewing an opposition politician.
- The Pakistani General Headquarters, a command center of land forces that originally called for the probe, has also urged the government to take legal action against those accusing the regime of being involved in the killing, which it deems baseless allegations.
Sources: Nation, Ary, Press Media of India, Dunya, and Al Jazeera.
Narratives
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Times of Islamabad. It's suspicious when one of the Pakistani government’s most influential critics is killed. Sharif was critical of the military and was working on a documentary exposing money laundering within the halls of government. Elements within Pakistan’s regime may have played a role in his death.
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by ABC. Sharif and his driver disobeyed police orders, sped past a checkpoint, and were tragically shot during a chase. Clearly, this was a horrific situation and accident, but claims of a conspiracy involving the Pakistani government are baseless.
