‘Investigation should be held on why Arshad Sharif had to leave Pakistan’: DG ISPR

Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar, has said that the military has requested the federal government to conduct a “high-level investigation” into the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

On October 23, Sharif was shot dead near Nairobi, Kenya, by the local police. The local law enforcing authorities have termed the killing a case of ‘mistaken identity’.

While talking to 24 News, DG ISPR said, “We have requested the government to hold a high-level investigation so that all these speculations can be put to rest.”

“Who is the beneficiary of the smear campaign after the killing of Arshad Sharif in Kenya?” : Pakistan army spokesman Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar #ArshadSharif pic.twitter.com/lz2lvwTAg4

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) October 25, 2022

Gen Iftikhar stressed that it is important to find out why the journalist left Pakistan, where did he live all this time, and what circumstances led to this incident.

“Investigation should be held that why Arshad Sharif had to leave Pakistan,” the DG ISPR said while adding that we have to put an end to the speculations.

He regretted that people are accusing institutions, stressing that the military has also requested the government “to take legal action against all these people who are leveling allegations without any evidence”.

“This is why it is most upsetting that his death is being used for baseless conversations and fingers are being raised on it. We just have to see who is using this unfortunate incident, who is the beneficiary of this thing,”‘ General Iftikhar pointed out.

Describing Arshad Sharif as a “very professional man”, the General observed that everyone is sad about his tragic death.

Earlier in the day, General Headquarters (GHQ) asked the government to constitute a high-level panel to look into the tragic circumstances of Arshad’s death.