Pakistani journalist Death sparks protest in Kenya

Dozens of journalists rallied on Monday in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, over the killing of a senior Pakistani journalist by police in Kenya.

Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif died on Sunday evening after the car he was in sped up instead of halting at a roadblock near the capital, Nairobi.

“The journalist community in Pakistan is demanding an immediate inquiry about the target(ed) killing of Arshad Sharif in Kenya, many political parties are also supporting this demand, the government of Pakistan must form a judicial commission to investigate the murder”, said Hamid Mir, senior anchor at Geo TV and global opinions contributing columnist for the Washington Post.

According to the Kenyan authorities, the car where Sharif travelled ignored orders to stop and instead accelerated.

Kenyan police expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a case of child abduction.

The police shot dead the journalist and his brother, Khurram Ahmed.

Sharif left Pakistan in July to avoid arrest following a citizen’s complaint against him on allegations of maligning the country’s national institutions, a reference to the military.