Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Wednesday that he did not know why Arshad Sharif was forced to travel from Pakistan to Dubai and from Dubai to Kenya, adding that it was regretful that Imran Khan was using the tragic killing of the journalist for his political gains.
“Imran Khan did not support Arshad Sharif in his critical times and now he [Imran Khan] was shedding tears,” the interior minister said speaking exclusively on Aaj News programme Faisla Aap Ka with host Asma Shirazi.
The interior minister claimed that Imran Khan was a beneficiary of the unfortunate incident.
Responding to a question regarding the deportation of the senior journalist from Dubai, Sanaullah said that government did not write any letter to Dubai authorities for deporting Arshad Sharif. He questioned why the senior journalist was sent to Dubai and then what were the reasons behind his travel to Kenya.
The slain journalist was shot dead by Kenyan police in what they claimed a case of “mistaken identity” some kilometers away from the capital city on Sunday night, while he was returning from Magadi Town.
Kenyan police, in a statement, said they were searching for a stolen vehicle with an abducted child inside on October 23 when Sharif’s car did not stop at a checkpoint. Officers opened fire and one bullet hit the journalist in the head, leaving him dead on the spot.
Sharif moved out of Pakistan in August after a sedition case was filed against him over controversial remarks made by PTI leader Shahbaz Gill in his programme on a private news channel.
Rana Sanaullah revealing facts about Khurram Ahmed and Waqar Ahmed who were reportedly hosting Sharif in Kenya said that both of them were involved in the smuggling business, adding that their company was associated with a private news channel.
“If they are the employees of the company and if both of them remained safe during the firing on the vehicle, then these things will lead the case somewhere else.”
Earlier it emerged that Khurram, the driver at the time of the incident, is a brother to the owner of a shooting range in the area, Waqar Ahmed. Sharif had been at the Ammodump Kwenia Shooting Range for the better part of Sunday, October 23.
In response to the question about the cases filed against the slain senior journalist, the interior minister said that he [Arshad Sharif] had full protection from the Islamabad High Court.
Sanaullah said that he and Sharif discussed the cases against him a couple of times and the government was ready to address his reservations. “Sharif did not indicate to leave the country,” the interior minister added.
Taking a jibe at PTI Chief Imran Khan, the interior minister said that a man who directly accused the institutions was linking the killing of the slain journalist by Kenyan police to a targeted killing.
“Imran Khan should have publicised the death threats to the anchorperson if he knew about it,” the minister added.
The interior minister said that Imran Khan’s party, governing in KP and Punjab for the last many years, could have arranged security for Arshad Sharif, who was receiving threats from unknowns before leaving Pakistan.
He said that the PTI chief should be made part of the investigation after his confession of recommending Sharif to travel to Kenya.
“The factors that forced Arshad Sharif to travel from Pakistan to Dubai and then from Dubai to Kenya should be investigated,” the interior minister suggested.
Sanaullah said that Pakistani officials had left for Kenya to investigate why Arshad Sharif went to Kenya.
Earlier in the day, Interior Ministry constituted a two-member investigation team to probe the killing of the slain journalist.
A notification issued in this regard said that the committee would comprise Federal Investigation Agency Director Athar Waheed and Intelligence Bureau Director General Omar Shahid Hameed.
