The wife of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif who was killed in Kenya has demanded that the police be held accountable for her husband's death.
In a statement on October 25, Javeria Siddique expressed that it was unfortunate that her husband was returning to his country in a coffin.
She shared images of the journalist's body being airlifted to Pakistan for burial.
"My husband Arshad Sharif is coming back home in a coffin. Authorities in Kenya are answerable to us," she stated.
Sharif made the statement hours after an autopsy conducted on the slain journalist's body revealed that he died of gunshot wounds between the head and the shoulders.
“We have already done the post-mortem, which shows that he was shot between his shoulder and his head.
"It was a mishap that happened by the Kenyan police between Kajiado and Nairobi, which they have ruled a case of mistaken identity and that they were looking for a stolen car, They said they did not see the registration number clearly,” Pakistan High Commissioner to Kenya, Saqlain Syedah stated.
Further, the diplomat clarified that the journalist was not undertaking an investigative piece in Kenya as was widely reported.
"Sharif was on a holiday on a visitor’s visa. If he was on the run, he would have not gotten the visa.
"There are procedures in attaining a visa, but as a journalist, he was still doing his blogs and everything, but not on the run,” the diplomat added.
The shooting of the Pakistani journalist has drawn global attention with the United States government through State Department Spokesperson, Ned Price calling for speedy investigations over his death.
“We encourage a full investigation by the Government of Kenya into his death. It’s not entirely clear that we know all the circumstances at this point regarding what led to his death, but we do urge a full investigation,” he stated.
On their part, police have stated that the journalist's shooting was a result of mistaken identity in a car theft case even as investigations have been launched over the incident.
