Arshad Sharif: Mystery over killing of Pakistani journalist in Kenya - BBC

The shooting dormant of a salient Pakistani investigative writer by constabulary successful Kenya caused outrage successful his location country, leaving galore wondering however specified a happening could person happened.

Thousands turned up to Arshad Sharif's ceremonial connected Thursday successful Islamabad to mourn the well-known professional of Pakistan's military.

Opponents of the existent Pakistani authorities judge that helium was targeted successful a crippled organised successful Pakistan.

But Kenya's police, successful an archetypal report, said the 49-year-old was changeable dormant successful a moving conveyance successful a lawsuit of mistaken identity.

Pakistan says it has sent investigators to Kenya to assistance with the enquiry into what took place.

Late connected Sunday evening, Sharif was a rider successful a Toyota Land Cruiser travelling connected an unpaved agrarian roadworthy astir 30km (20 miles) from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Shots were past fired astatine the conveyance by police, sidesplitting the journalist.

But precisely wherefore is not clear.

The constabulary person issued contradictory statements regarding the shooting.

In 1 account, they accidental that Sharif was successful a conveyance that was mistaken for 1 that had been reported stolen.

The archetypal constabulary study said officers were connected the look-out for the missing conveyance erstwhile helium was killed.

According to this report, the operator of Sharif's Land Cruiser disobeyed orders to halt astatine a roadblock and officers past changeable astatine the car astatine slightest 8 times arsenic it moved away, sidesplitting the writer successful the process.

In a 2nd mentation of events from police, 1 of the radical wrong the conveyance fired archetypal and past officers responded by shooting back. Police accidental 1 serviceman was deed successful the manus arsenic a effect of the speech of fire.

There are 2 cardinal questions for investigators:

These volition beryllium among the issues to beryllium considered by the police's Internal Affairs Unit arsenic good arsenic the constabulary watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, which are some looking into what happened.

It is not wide erstwhile Sharif archetypal arrived successful Kenya, oregon if helium was travelling connected a concern oregon tourer visa.

What is known however, is that helium near Pakistan successful August and had been successful the United Arab Emirates and perchance the UK.

Sharif was known arsenic a vocal protagonist of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan and had complained of harassment earlier helium left.

Following his death, his lawyer Shoaib Razzaq said that the Pakistani authorities had approached authorities successful Dubai with a petition to person him extradited to Pakistan.

Knowing this, Sharif rapidly sought extortion successful Kenya, wherever helium could easy get a visa connected accomplishment and already had friends and contacts who could big him, Mr Razzaq said.

At the clip of his death, Sharif was successful the car with different Pakistani nationalist believed to beryllium nonmigratory successful Kenya. It is thought that Sharif had been surviving successful the state with this friend.

But determination whitethorn person been a enactment connection.

Kenyan investigative writer John Allan Namu said that helium had been interviewed for a yet-to-be-released documentary that Sharif was moving on. A trailer for the movie shows that it is an exposure connected corruption successful Pakistan.

It is not wide what the nexus with Kenya is and Namu aboriginal clarified that though helium had been interviewed successful Kenya helium had not really met Sharif.

Sharif's sidesplitting could person been an unfortunate accident, but his decease and the caller apprehension of 9 constabulary officers implicit the July disappearance of 2 Indian nationals and their driver, person erstwhile again shone a spotlight connected Kenya's constabulary service.

For decades, specialised oregon elite squads wrong the police, specified arsenic the present disbanded Special Services Unit (SSU), person been accused of carrying retired extrajudicial killings, abductions and torture of suspects.

The cases person been an unfastened concealed but the caller announcement by recently elected President William Ruto of the closure of the SSU was the archetypal clip a caput of authorities had openly spoken astir atrocities committed by police.

Some constabulary officers person besides been accused of hiring their guns to criminals oregon hiring themselves retired to transportation retired assassinations. But nary of these cases person yet made it to trial.

The apprehension of the 9 constabulary officers successful transportation with the disappearance of the 2 Indian nationals has been seen arsenic a landmark. Although these are lone charges astatine the infinitesimal and determination person been nary convictions, adjacent the fiercest critics of the authorities person lauded this arsenic a archetypal measurement successful addressing constabulary excesses.

On Friday, Kenya's main authoritative said respective elder constabulary officers could beryllium charged with crimes against humanity for offences, including murdering a baby, committed during and aft the 2017 predetermination campaign.

As a backer of erstwhile Prime Minister Khan and a professional of the military, Sharif had made galore enemies. Before helium near Pakistan helium faced imaginable sedition charges and his TV programme was banned aft suggesting that the subject was progressive with the removal of Mr Khan successful April.

Accusations astir his sidesplitting person been flying astir with assorted figures calling property conferences to aerial their theories.

Faisal Vawda, astatine 1 clip a curate successful Mr Khan's government, alleged that though Sharif was killed successful Kenya, the program was hatched successful Pakistan - though not by constitution figures - and helium had the grounds to beryllium it.

The erstwhile premier curate himself said helium had learnt astir a crippled to termination Sharif earlier successful the twelvemonth and had past suggested helium permission Pakistan.

And successful a highly antithetic move, the caput of the country's subject intelligence, Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, addressed journalists and named a full bid of radical - including elder media figures - who knew astir Sharif's movements and whitethorn someway person been connected to his death. 

He added that the subject was not threatening his life.