KARACHI: Kenyan authorities have reportedly refused to cooperate with Pakistani investigators in the ongoing Arshad Sharif murder probe.
The Pakistani journalist was killed in Kenya in 2020, and Pakistani authorities had requested permission to conduct a fresh investigation in the country. However, the Kenyan government has made it clear on multiple occasions that it will not allow any further investigation inside the country.
According to report published on Wednesday, sources from both Pakistan and Kenya confirmed the Kenyan refusal, with a Kenyan government source stating that the country had already provided as much help as possible to two Pakistani investigators.
The Kenyan government, police, and intelligence services are reportedly upset with the conclusions drawn in the investigators’ report, which suggests that there was a strong case of a murder conspiracy leading up to Arshad Sharif’s assassination, potential police complicity, a clear case of a murder plot cover-up, and a lack of will by the Kenyan authorities to investigate the case properly.
The Kenyan government has insisted that Arshad Sharif’s killing was a case of mistaken identity, but local Kenyan journalists have refuted this claim, saying that the Pakistani journalist was killed in cold blood.
Pakistani investigators had requested permission to visit the incident site and the flat where Arshad Sharif lived, as well as access to Kenya’s records, but they were denied permission.
It may also be mentioned here that Islamabad has written to Kenya’s Foreign Ministry for help, but they have been told in categorical terms that no further help will be provided. Arshad Sharif’s family, friends, and the Pakistani media believe that the senior journalist was killed in a planned murder attack in Kenya.
