ISLAMABAD: The Nairobi police gave a new twist to the murder of Arshad Sharif, a renowned Pakistani TV anchorperson, who was shot dead on Sunday night. Now the Nairobi police have linked the murder of Arshad Sharif to a stolen car.
According to the latest statement of the Nairobi Police issued on Monday evening (Oct 24), a car was stolen and the police created a picket on road to recover that car. In the meantime, a vehicle carrying Arshad Sharif did not stop at the police barrier as a result of which police opened fire and fatally injured Arshad Sharif, who succumbed to his injuries.
Nairobi police also claimed that Khurram Ahmed was accompanying Arshad Sharif in the car, but neither Khurram has been presented before the media nor has anyone heard any statement from him about the incident.
The car, carrying Arshad Sharif, shows multiple bullets fired by police and this one-way brutal firing makes the incident more complicated. In normal circumstances, police officials do not open such a brutal firing on any vehicle unless firing starts from inside the car.
In the murder case of Arshad Sharif, Nairobi police changed the stance twice _ first, they said that a child was kidnapped in a car and later on they claimed that a car was stolen and the policemen were looking for that vehicle and created a barrier on the road where this tragedy took place.
How highly armed Kenyan police could fire several bullets on the car of unarmed Arshad Sharif?
The angles of the bullets fired by police on the car show that the real target was Arshad Sharif and not the driver.
And what happened to Khurram Ahmed, companion of Arshad Sharif?
How Kenyan police could say that Arshad Sharif had been killed just by mistake?
Is it just a co-incident that Kenyan police sets up picket on the road where vehicle of Arshad Sharif was approaching?
The narrative of Kenyan police indicates that they used a common, typical, and notorious method to eliminate their target person _ Arshad Sharif.
First stance of Kenyan Police
Kenyan police issued an initial statement on Monday noon claiming the killing of a famous Pakistani TV anchorperson was a ‘mistake’. They also said that a child was kidnapped in a car and they were looking for that car.
The circumstances surrounding the killing of Arshad Sharif indicate some loopholes in the statement of the police and the incident.
Kenyan police said they tried to stop the car, carrying Arshad Sharif, at a picket, but the driver did not stop. Police chased the car and during the shooting Arshad Sharif was killed when a bullet hit him in the head. However, the latest statement of Kenyan police cites a different scene.
Kenyan Police gave a new twist to the tragic incident by issuing another statement on Monday evening.
Linking the tragic incident to a mistake, Kenyan police further said that they were informed about a similar car involved in the kidnapping of a child.
When the cops spotted the car of Arshad Sharif, being driven by a local driver, the car did not stop at the police picket, and instead, the driver sped away. Resultantly, the police chased the car, opened fire and a bullet pierced through the head of the TV anchorperson, leading to his instant death.
Unanswered Questions
Kenyan police’s initial statement makes it clear that Arshad Sharif was assassinated by the local police.
Why did the police target Arshad Sharif and spare the local driver, who did not stop at the picket _ if this claim is true?
Why did the bullet hit the head of Arshad Sharif while his Kenyan driver remained safe, perhaps with a minor injury?
Normally, policemen target the tyres of the vehicle and try to arrest the kidnappers in case there is no exchange of fires. But in the case of Arshad Sharif, Kenyan police acted in a hurry and opened straight one-way firing on the car and killed the Pakistani anchorperson on the spot and later on termed the incident a mistake.
There is no information about the actual car which the Kenyan police were looking for in the kidnapping of a child.
In simple words, the assassination of Arshad Sharif is not just a ‘mistake’ and the statement of Kenyan police reminds us of a typical style of twists of the incident to distort the facts of the tragedy.
The incident has shocked the Pakistanis within the country and abroad and a high-level commission must be established to find out facts of this gruesome police ‘mistake’ of the killing of a high-profile Pakistani TV anchorperson.
