The members of a Pakistani investigation team probing the death of journalist Arshad Sharif interrogated two people in Kenya with whom the slain journalist was staying, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
The two members of the probe team met with Waqar Ahmad and Khurram Ahmad and asked them questions regarding the shooting incident in which journalist Arshad Sharif lost his life.
In his statement to the Pakistani sleuths, Waqar Ahmad said that Arshad Sharif had been staying at his guest house in Kenya for almost two months. Some ‘friend’ requested him to accommodate the TV anchor, he said adding that before their meeting in Nairobi, he met only once with Sharif at a luncheon. He said he had invited Sharif to his lodge at lunch which was situated out of Nairobi.
Waqar said that on the day of the incident, we ate lunch with Sharif at our lodge and after that ‘the journalist left the place with my brother Khurram Ahmad.’ He went on to say that after half an hour, he was informed that their vehicle came under fire.
While in his statement, Khurram Ahmad said that starting from their lodge there is an 18km-long stretch of dirt road and after that the carpeted road starts.
He said as they were only a few kilometers away from the carpeted road, some pebbles were thrown on the path and as soon as they crossed the pebble-filled dirt road, their vehicle came under fire. He said he got scared and accelerated the speed of his vehicle.
Waqar said that Khurram miraculously remained unscathed in the incident.
He said that the IPad and mobile phone which were under the use of Arshad Sharif were handed over to the Kenyan authorities.
He further revealed that Sharif was thinking of shifting to Nairobi and for this purpose, he had extended his visa.
On Oct 26, the government has formed a two-member investigation team consisting of sleuths from the country's top intelligence agencies to investigate the murder of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Athar Waheed was appointed as head of the investigation team. The other member of the team is Intelligence Bureau (IB) Deputy Director General Umar Shahid Hamid.
On Oct 24, senior Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was shot dead on last Sunday night along the Nairobi-Magadi highway in what Kenyan police termed as mistaken identity.
Arshad Sharif was shot in the head and killed by police after he and his driver allegedly breached a roadblock that had been set up to check on motor vehicles using the route.
They were driving from Magadi town to Nairobi when they were flagged down at a roadblock being manned by a group of police officers, police said. Police headquarters said Independent Policing Oversight Authority will take over the case.
A senior police officer confirmed the shooting and added a comprehensive statement will be released later.
“We had an incident of shooting which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity involving a journalist. We will release more information later,” the officer said.
According to police, at the roadblock, there was a call for police to intercept a car similar to the one they were driving following a carjacking incident in Pangani area, Nairobi where a child was taken hostage.
And a few minutes later, Sharif’s car emerged at the roadblock and they were stopped and asked to identify themselves. They allegedly failed to stop and drove past the roadblock.
This prompted a brief chase and shooting that left Sharif dead. Their car rolled and his driver was injured and taken to hospital.