Arshad Sharif's body handed to family at Islamabad airport

The flight carrying the body of senior journalist Arshad Sharif arrived in Islamabad in the early hours of Wednesday. 

The journalist was shot and killed by Kenyan police Sunday, October 23. According to the country police, the killing was the result of 'a mistaken identity.'

The authorities handed the body to the members of his family, who were present at the Islamabad airport. 

The body will be kept at the mortuary of the Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital.

The funeral prayer will be offered at the Shah Faisal Mosque at 2 o'clock on Thursday. He will be laid to rest at the H-11 cemetery in the federal capital.

After waiting outside the closed gates for so long, the journalist's family voiced their criticism of the government and said the community of journalists is a witness to the cruelty.

Arshad targeted killed to silence truth: Imran

Addressing a lawyer’s convention in Peshawar on Tuesday, PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan claimed that slain journalist Arshad Sharif was targeted killed.

“No matter what anyone says, I know that Arshad Sharif became a victim of target killing,” Khan said.

“I had received information that Sharif would be killed so that truth could be silenced.”

The former premier also claimed that Sharif was receiving threats from unknown numbers.

“I told him to leave the country, but he did not listen,” Khan shared, adding that he considered Sharif the most respected figure in journalism.

Pak Army seeks high-level inquiry

The Pakistan Army Tuesday asked the government to conduct a high-level probe into the tragic killing of the journalist.

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said, “We have requested the government to hold a high-level investigation so that all these speculations can be put to rest.”

“All the aspects of this terrible incident need to be looked into.”

To a question regarding the accusations being hurled at the institutions' alleged involvement in Sharif’s killing in Kenya, the DG ISPR said: “It is very unfortunate that people engage in allegations without any evidence to back them up … and I think an exhaustive investigation should be carried out to deal with these things”.

Kenyan police account of Arshad Sharif's death

Taking responsibility, the Kenyan police said Sharif was gunned down when police, tracking down a jacked car, opened indiscriminate fire on the journalist's automobile mistaking it for a stolen vehicle. A Kenyan police report said that they suspected the car had a minor hostage as it sped through a manned barricade without stopping.

Govt in contact with Kenyan authorities: FO

The Foreign Office of Pakistan said that the government is actively engaged with the Kenyan authorities at multiple levels for the speedy repatriation of the mortal remains of Sharif.

Pakistan has also officially asked Kenya to launch an investigation into the incident.

Acting Foreign Secretary Raza Bashir Tarar has also met with the Kenyan High Commissioner in Islamabad to impress upon the importance of the matter.

Tarar also briefed the honourable members of the National Assembly Foreign Relations Committee on the developments.