Arshad Sharif Murder: Pakistani Detectives Expand Probe to Dubai

File photo of slain journalist Arshad Sherif
File photo of slain journalist Arshad Sherif
File

Pakistani detectives expanded the probe to Dubai in an effort to solve the mysterious murder of Journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

A report by Dawn, a Pakistani outlet, the country's Supreme Court approved the Special Joint Investigation Team (SJIT) to interrogate people who interacted with the journalist while in Dubai, which he had visited before flying to Kenya.

It is estimated that the team will spend a week in Dubai before embarking on a trip to Kenya.

To help them travel to Dubai and Kenya, the Pakistani government reportedly released close to Ksh15 million for SJIT team's operations.

An image slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif
An image slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif.

SJIT members are also set to visit the crime scene and interrogate Kenyan cops who shot the journalist in Kajiado.

Besides interrogating the Kenyan police officers, the special team is also expected to review the autopsy report and question the government pathologists.

Detectives from Pakistani will collaborate with the Independent Oversight Authority (IPOA) to gather crucial information regarding the murder of Arshad.

According to reports from Dubai, Kenyan officials had agreed to collaborate with the SJIT team to unravel the murder puzzle.

Arshad, who had fled Pakistan citing threats to his life, was shot dead in Nairobi in October. 

The National Police Service (NPS) stated it was a case of mistaken identity, and police hunting car thieves opened fire on his vehicle as it drove through a roadblock without stopping.

To help establish the truth regarding NPS statement, a  two-member fact-finding team from Pakistan that traveled to Kenya and conducted several interviews, examined and reconstructed the crime scene and examined the deceased's phones and computers, said in a 600-page report that Arshad's killing was a pre-planned murder.

"Both the members of the (fact-finding team) have a considered understanding that it is a case of planned targeted assassination with transnational characters rather than a case of mistaken identity," said the report, copies of which were submitted to Pakistan's Supreme Court," their report read in part.

"It is more probable that the firing was done, after taking proper aim, at a stationary vehicle," it added.

A file image of Pakistani's former News anchor Arshad Sharif.
A file image of Pakistani's former News anchor Arshad Sharif.
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