Arshad Sharif’s death: Medical board prepares initial post-mortem report

ISLAMABAD: The eight-member medical board of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has prepared an initial post-mortem report of the slain senior journalist Arshad Sharif, ARY News reported on Thursday.

ARY News obtained the initial post-mortem report of the slain senior journalist Arshad Sharif. The post-mortem report was prepared by the eight-member medical board of the PIMS.

Initially, the federal government had constituted a six-member medical board to conduct autopsy. Two more members were included in the medical board on the appeal of Sharif’s family.

The medical board performed the autopsy in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and inspected Sharif’s body besides conducting forensic, toxicology and pathology tests.

Sources added that samples of organs including heart, lungs and stomach were taken for forensic examination and a detailed post-mortem report will be prepared on the basis of the test reports.

According to the initial report, the journalist received bullets in the head and right lung and the death was caused by a gunshot wound to his head within 10 to 30 minutes.

Earlier in the day, the late Arshad Sharif was laid to rest in Islamabad’s H-11 cemetery.

Arshad Sharif’s assassination

The senior journalist and former ARY News anchor, was killed in Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 23 where he was living in self-exile.

Kenyan police first said that Arshad Sharif was killed in a case of “mistaken identity” but since the seasoned journalist’s post-mortem and his body’s transfer to his home country, several Kenyan news outlets have not only questioned the police’s conduct but have raised questions over the manner in which he was killed.

Who was Arshad Sharif? why people loved him?

A seasoned journalist, Arshad Sharif was one of Pakistan’s top news anchors. ARY News show Powerplay was Arshad’s last outing on national television.

He had worked for the country’s top news channels and newspapers in the past. He was awarded ‘Presidential Pride of Performance’ for his exceptional journalism in the year 2019.

His show ‘Powerplay’ was one of the most-watched talkshows in Pakistan and people loved the way Arshad came up with stories regarding the ruling elite’s corruption and wrongdoings with strong evidence.

The martyr’s family has demanded a judicial inquiry and public hearings during the inquiry to reveal the “truth” behind his murder.

Government of Pakistan has also formed a two-member team to investigate Arshad Sharif’s death comprising Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) representatives.