— Mandate includes inquiry into ‘gold smuggling’ business of a TV tycoon, and into Imran’s ‘confession’ he tipped off journalist about possibility of attack
— Rumours rife after removal of ISI member within hours of inclusion
ISLAMABAD: Acting on the orders it received from the office of the prime minister, the Ministry of Interior has constituted a two-person team to “ascertain the facts” related to the ghastly murder of anchorperson and outspoken government critic Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
The team includes Omar Shahid Hamid, deputy director general of Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Athar Wahid, director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Initially included, a third member — Lt. Col. Saad Ahmed of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency — was removed, without any justification, hours after the notification emerged on the Internet.
ISI’s Lt Col Saad Ahmed is no longer part of the team which will probe #ArshadSharif‘s murder in Kenya and submit a report to the Interior Ministry. pic.twitter.com/tnTu0dkvDO
— Hamza Azhar Salam (@HamzaAzhrSalam) October 26, 2022
Sharif was killed Sunday night when the car he was in sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and police opened fire. Nairobi police expressed regret over the incident, claiming it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case.
Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan tweeted the team will “immediately” depart for Kenya to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and will submit a report to his department. The Foreign Office and Pakistan’s High Commission in Nairobi would facilitate the probe.
سینئر صحافی ارشد شریف کے کینیا میں قتل سے متعلق حقائق جاننے کیلئے FIA اور انٹیلی ایجنسیز کے اعلیٰ افسران پر مشتمل تین رکنی تحقیقاتی ٹیم تشکیل دے دی ہے۔ تحقیقاتی ٹیم فوری طور پر کینیا روانہ ہوگی اور ارشد شریف قتل کیس کی تحقیقات کرے گی اور حتمی رپورٹ وزارتِ داخلہ کو پیش کریگی۔
— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) October 26, 2022
He, however, did not specify a timeframe for the team to complete the investigation.
Surprisingly, the team will also look into the “role of a person connected to a private TV station in Pakistan in the gold smuggling business in Kenya”, in a thinly-veiled reference to Salman Iqbal, chief executive officer (CEO) of ARY News where Sharif last worked, whose family once dealt in the commodity, Express News reported.
Maryam Nawaz, vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has in the past accused Iqbal of being a “gold smuggler”.
“ARY owner Salman Iqbal […] a close friend of Imran Khan […] is a gold smuggler […] and the former prime minister gave him a benefit of up to Rs40 billion [while in office],” she claimed, without offering any evidence, in May, a month after her party came to power.
According to its mandate, the investigation team will also examine the “reasons and motivations” which compelled Sharif to flee Pakistan, first to Dubai and then to Kenya.
Pointing to the “confession” of former prime minister Khan, who has claimed knowledge of a plot to kill Sharif on basis of which he said he advised the journalist to temporarily leave the country, the statement said the team will also examine the factors that forced Sharif to travel abroad.
Responding to the development, Shireen Mazari, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MP, claimed “Waheed had as [Superintendent of Police in] Gujranwala in 2009 openly proclaimed affiliation with Nawaz Sharif.”
“Why is he leading this team [because] one element of the probe would be the documentary Arshad was associated with on [Nawaz] Sharif’s corruption,” she said. “Sharifs [and] their cabal of crooks can never do anything honest.”
Athar Waheed had as SP Gujranwala in 2009 openly proclaimed affiliation with Nawaz Sharif. Why is he leading this team bc one element of probe would be the documentary Arshad was associated with on Sharif’s corruption. Sharifs & their cabal of crooks can never do anything honest! https://t.co/fVy8QbLjbK
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) October 26, 2022
Meanwhile, the slain reporter’s body was received at Islamabad airport by his family, friends and a crowd of hundreds of well-wishers just after midnight Wednesday before being shifted to the morgue at a private hospital in Rawalpindi.
میرا ارشد آگیا #قوم_کا_ہیرو_ارشد_شریف pic.twitter.com/PZKeYfayAs
— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) October 26, 2022
Sharif’s family said he would undergo a post-mortem in Islamabad, and be laid to rest on Thursday at the H-11 cemetery after funeral prayers at 2:00 pm at Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.
