Following the shooting death of renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif on Sunday, an inquiry has started in Kenya.
According to a preliminary police report, he was shot by authorities while he was in a moving car due to a case of mistaken identity.
Sharif was a vocal supporter of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan and a critic of the Pakistani military.
In May, the 49-year-old left Pakistan after reporting abuse. Before going to Kenya, he visited the UK and Dubai first.
It is unknown precisely what he was doing in the nation of East Africa.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa), the police watchdog in Kenya, announced that it has dispatched a rapid response team to the scene of the shooting on Sunday evening in Kajiado County, close to Nairobi.
According to Ipoa chairperson Ann Makori, the panel will look into the “reported police shooting of a Pakistani national.”
According to the initial police report on the incident, Sharif was in a car that authorities assumed in error had been stolen. When the vehicle didn’t stop at a roadblock, the officers opened fire at it.
The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, expressed his sorrow and sadness over the untimely death of journalist Arshad Sharif in a tweet.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, issued a warning against speculating about the circumstances of the death.
Javeria Siddique, Sharif’s wife, wrote a brief note on Twitter lamenting the loss of her “friend, husband, and favorite journalist.”
Former Prime Minister Khan demanded a “full legal probe” and expressed horror at what he called a “murder,” saying he had “paid the ultimate price for speaking the truth.”
In April, Mr. Khan was forced out of office after losing a vote of no confidence. After protesting about being harassed by the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Sharif—who had supported Mr. Khan—left the country.
