The Pakistani Army on Thursday called for an international investigation into the death of journalist Arshad Sharif, who died this week after being shot by Kenyan police.
Sharif, 49, was known precisely for his strong criticism of the Pakistani Armed Forces and was residing in Kenya after fleeing the country last August after the Prosecutor’s Office imposed sedition charges against him for blaming several generals for the departure of former Prime Minister Imran Jan from power.
Jan, who was sacked last year following a no-confidence motion in Parliament, had asked the journalist to leave the country allegedly after receiving information about a plot to assassinate him.
«There must be a transparent investigation by an international agency, such as the United Nations, into this matter,» said army spokesman Gen. Babar Iftijar.
Jan’s statements about the journalist have prompted Pakistan’s intelligence chief Nadim Ahmed Anjum to address the media directly for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
«There has been no threat yet to Sharif’s life. He was in touch with his friends within this agency,» said the general, who heads Pakistan’s Intelligence Services (ISI).
Kenyan security forces claim that Sharif was shot in the head by an officer after the driver of the vehicle in which he was traveling jumped a police checkpoint set up to stop a similar car. However, this version has been met with skepticism nationally and internationally.
The funeral for his death began on Thursday at the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, the capital of the country, where dozens of followers and relatives have already gathered. The city of Lahore will also hold a ceremony in his memory, according to the newspaper ‘Dawn’.
For his part, Khan has called protests for Friday to demand early elections in the country, taking advantage of the controversy stirred up among his followers by the death of the journalist.
