Arshad Sharif's family demands UN probe into journalist's killing

The family of slain journalist Arshad Sharif has called for an independent investigation overseen by the UN Human Rights Office into the murder of renowned journalist in Kenya.

International media outlet CNN has spoken to the widow and mother of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif who was shot dead in Kenya on Oct. 24 in unclear circumstances.

Speaking to CNN, Sharif’s mother has expressed reservations over separate probes being conducted by the PML-N-led federal government in Pakistan and Kenyan authorities.

Arshad Sharif’s widow Javeria Siddique in an interview with CNN journalist Larry Madowo said her husband had told her that he was hiding somewhere undisclosed in Kenya due to death threats.

According to CNN, the slain journalist lived in Kenya quietly for two months and rarely went out until the day he attended a range shooting.

As per the CNN report, the conflicting statements of the Kenyan police have raised questions over the probe being carried out in Kenya.

The police have so far recorded the statements of 15 people, including 10 civilians and 5 police officers in the case.

According to CNN, the question remained unsolved who shot one of the four policemen who was injured at the crime scene.

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.