Friendly visa rules attracted Arshad Sharif to Kenya as he fled Pakistan
Top Pakistani news anchor Arshad Sharif. He was shot dead in Kenya, just months after he fled his home country to avoid arrest over sedition charges.
Slain Pakistan journalist Arshad Sharif chose to hide in Kenya because of its friendly visa policies that allow foreigners to acquire the document on arrival at any of its borders, the Nation has established.
However, the easy entry into Kenya ended in tragedy that has put focus on Kenya for all the wrong reasons.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was often on the receiving end of the journalist’s work, is preparing to set up a judicial commission to determine the facts surrounding his death. The Prime Minister yesterday announced the formation of the commission on Twitter.
“I have decided to form a Judicial Commission to hold an inquiry into the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in order to determine the facts of the tragic incident in a transparent and conclusive manner,” the PM posted.
If the commission uncovers foul play in Sharif’s death, it could set Kenya on a treacherous path of diplomatic tension with Pakistan.
Sharif’s move to hide in Kenya contradicts Pakistan’s position, which is that the journalist was in Kenya on holiday. High Commissioner to Kenya Saqlain Syedah on Monday based Pakistan’s position on the fact that Sharif was granted a tourist visa. She did not reveal when he entered Kenya or how long he was expected to be in the country.
Following multiple threats to his life and the arrest of other government critics, Sharif left Pakistan for Dubai on August 10. He had on multiple occasions raised concern over plans to assassinate him.
A heavily paranoid Sharif cut communication with family, friends and other confidantes as he left Peshawar, Pakistan, to start life on the run and evade sedition charges stemming from an interview with an opposition politician. Not even his close contacts in Pakistan know how long Sharif stayed in Dubai.
However, at some point, Dubai authorities gave Sharif 48 hours to leave the country or face extradition to Pakistan.
“Dubai authorities notified him that he had to leave within 48 hours. I do not know how many days he lived in Dubai because when he fled from Peshawar he disconnected from all. Even his family did not know where he was,” freelance journalist Shams Rehman said in an interview.
From Dubai, Sharif went to London, then to Kenya, in the hope that friendly visa policies would allow him to get a safe haven while he looked around for political asylum.
Details of how long he stayed in Kenya have not been disclosed, but he was gunned down at a makeshift roadblock on October 23 around 9pm.
Mr Rehman has also faulted the explanation by Kenyan authorities that Sharif was killed in a case of mistaken identity.
“If the police knew that the child was with the kidnappers in the car, how did they shoot directly at the car? If there was really a child, wouldn’t he have been shot? There is a clear difference between the number plate of the vehicle and the one police claim was with kidnappers… They do not know the difference between 700F and 200M?” Mr Rehman asked.
Another of Sharif’s contacts confirmed that the journalist was on the run, and not on holiday as claimed by the High Commissioner.
Journalists in Pakistan have labelled the death an assassination, and want the killing of their colleague investigated.
