Warrant Issued for Pakistani Journalist’s Wife in Kenya Killing
Saturday, a district and sessions court in Pakistan issued arrest warrants for the widow of slain journalist Arshad Sharif, Summaiya Arshad, and producer Ali Usman for failing to appear in court.
According to a publication by the Express Tribune, Pakistan’s only internationally affiliated newspaper in partnership with the International New York Times, the two were called as witnesses in the homicide case.
During the hearing, Justice Umar Ata Bandial inquired as to why Sharif was in Kenya before his death.
The judge also directed the investigation’s course, instructing Pakistani detectives to examine the vehicle in which the journalist was killed and generate an impartial report on his death.
The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the court that the case could not move forward without Kenyan cooperation to ensure a seamless investigation.
In contrast, Sharif’s attorney requested the formation of a judicial commission to ensure an impartial and transparent investigation, a request that is still under review.
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According to Sharif’s family, high-ranking Pakistani government officials coordinated the assassination of their relative in Kenya.
The family filed a petition with the district court to include five officials in the investigations.
However, the court denied the petition, stating in the order that the request was unacceptable and would not aid the case.
Sharif, a prominent Pakistani newscaster, fled the nation in August 2022 to avoid arrest for criticizing the government.
According to reports, the journalist shifted to Dubai and then to Kenya. In October 2022, he was shot dead on the road between Nairobi and Magadi as he passed a police roadblock.
Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and, subsequently, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) conducted the investigation.
The Kenyan police attributed his murder to a case of mistaken identity in their initial report.
However, Pakistani detectives asserted that their Kenyan counterparts were involved in a cover-up and were shielding Sharif’s killers, implying that high-ranking officers may have acted as alibi witnesses.
Warrant Issued for Pakistani Journalist’s Wife in Kenya Killing
