The Supreme Court of Kenya has ordered the Kenyan government to take legal action against the police officers responsible for the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif while ruling on the petition filed by his wife.
According to the BBC report, Kenya’s High Court judge Justice Stella Motokune declared the shooting of the Pakistani journalist by Kenyan police officers as a violation of human rights and illegal.
It should be noted that senior journalist and anchor person Arshad Sharif was shot dead in Nairobi, Kenya on October 24, 2022.
In its decision, the Kenyan court ordered the government to take strict disciplinary action against those who shot journalist Arshad Sharif by the law. Justice Stella said that every person is equal before the constitution and law and has the right to live.
The judgment also said that there should be a thorough investigation into the killing of Arshad Sharif and the non-provision of information about the firing on him is a violation of the right to information.
Who was Arshad Sharif?
Arshad Sharif was 49 years old and belonged to a military family. Arshad Sharif’s father Muhammad Sharif was a commander in the Pakistan Navy.
Arshad was born in Karachi in 1973 and started his journalism career in 1993. He was first associated with English newspapers and then with various TV channels.
However, one of his main features became the ARY News program Powerplay. In 2012, he won the Awareness Award.
One of his brothers, Ashraf Sharif, was a major in the Pakistan Army. In 2011, Arshad Sharif’s father died when he was stationed in Bannu. Ashraf Sharif died in a car accident on his way to Rawalpindi from there.
President Arif Alvi honored Arshad Sharif with the Pride of Performance award in 2019.
Departure from Pakistan
Arshad Sharif has been in the news for the past few months when on August 13, the police registered a case against ARY journalists and the CEO, including Arshad Sharif.
The case was registered after a statement made by PTI leader Shehbaz Gul on this TV channel, accusing Gul of inciting members of the armed forces to revolt.
Arshad Sharif left Pakistan after the case was registered, although other journalists remained in the country.
A few days later, in response to Arshad Sharif’s statements, ARY announced that the channel was ending its 8-year association with him.
After leaving Pakistan in August, Arshad Sharif was seen in London. It was not immediately clear why he went to Nairobi, Kenya