Miltary leadership have raised questions over the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and expressed serious concerns regarding the propaganda campaign run on social media platform against the senior leadership of the Pakistan Army.

“We have to analyze what are the facts that have emerged so far regarding the late Arshad Sharif,” Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt. Gen. Babar Iftikhar said addressing a press conference alongside DG ISI Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum on Thursday.

The military spokesperson said that on August 5, 2022, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government issued a threat alert regarding Arshad Sharif, adding that as per the military’s information the threat alert was issued on the directives of the KP chief minister.

“The threat alert said that the TTP group residing in Afghanistan has held a meeting in Speen Boldak and that they want to target Arshad Sharif in Rawalpindi or adjacent areas,” the DG ISPR told the reporters.

He said that no further information had been shared with the security agencies or the federal government that from whom and how the provincial government received the information regarding targeting Arshad Sharif.

“This shows that the threat alert was issued with the intention of persuading Arshad Sharif to leave the country,” Lt. Gen Iftikhar said and added that there were the reports that slain journalist did not want to leave the country but he was repeatedly made to believe that his life was in danger.

The spokesperson said that PTI leader Shahbaz Gill’s controversial statement aired on ARY channel on August 8, 2022, inciting a rebellion in the army was condemned by all schools of thought and was termed as “crossing the red line”.

“ARY Chief Executive Salman Iqbal, after Shahbaz Gill’s arrest, directed the channel’s vice president, Imad Yusuf, to immediately send Arshad Sharif out of Pakistan,” the DG ISPR said and added that Yusuf told Iqbal that Sharif would leave for Dubai from Peshawar.

He said that then a narrative was being made that Sharif would be killed abroad.

“On August 9 a ticket was booked at 4:40 p.m from Krachi for Arshad Sharif’s departure to Dubai at the request of Mr. Imran, Assistant Manager and Planning Administration of ARY Group, through a travel agent named Fazal Rabi who collected 0.55 million rupees.”

The spokesperson said that according to the travel plan, Sharif was supposed to return to Pakistan on September 9, 2022.

“On August 10, Sharif left Peshawar’s Bacha Khan Airport for Dubai on Emirates International flight EK-637 at 6:10 am and the KP government provided him full protocol,” the DG ISPR said adding that Chief Minister Secretariat protocol officer Umar Gul Afridi took him to the airport in a double cabin having a green number plate.

General Iftakhar said that no efforts were made by the institutions to stop Arshad Sharif. “If the government wanted to stop him, it could have done it through the FIA.”

He said that Sharif left for Kenya after his Dubai visa expired. “According to our information, no one at the official level forced Arshad Sharif to leave Dubai.”

Other questions DG ISPR raises

• Who carried out the documentation related to his departure to the United Arab Emirates?

• Who was arranging Arshad Sharif’s stay in the UAE?

• Who was continuously convincing him not to return to Pakistan or else he will be killed?

• Who assured him that his life would be safe abroad, especially in a country like Kenya?

The spokesperson of the Pakistan Army clarified that a narrative is also being created that when Arshad Sharif was deported from Dubai, Kenya was the only visa-free country where he could have entered. However, he said, that there were at least 34 countries in the world where he could enter on visa-free basis.

• How did Arshad Sharif reach Kenya and who was hosting him?

• Who was in contact with him in Pakistan?

• Who are Waqar Ahmed and Khurram Ahmed, and how they were associated with Arshad Sharif?

• What was their relationship with Arshad? Did Arshad already know him or did someone connect them?

• Some people claimed of meeting Arshad Sharif in London, who made those claims, and on what basis were those claims made?

• Were these claims part of fake news or malafide controversy?

• Arshad Sharif died in a remote area and the Kenyan police did not recognize him, so who break the news first of this incident?

The DG ISPR said that Kenyan police and government had admitted their mistake in this case. “It is to be figured out whether it was really a case of mistaken identity or a targeted killing.”

He also repeatedly said that in view of the objections raised on the investigation, the military leadership had already decided that no representative of the ISI or MI would be included in the investigation committee.