Pakistan govt removes ISI member from team formed to probe journalist killing in Kenya

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Wednesday removed an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official from a team formed to probe the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya on Sunday night. The government did not explain the reason for the move.
The two-member committee, now consisting of officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), will submit its findings to the interior ministry.
Earlier, PM Shehbaz Sharif had formed a three-member inquiry committee, including the ISI member, that was mandated to travel to Kenya immediately and investigate the circumstances that led to the journalist’s killing.
Arshad Sharif, 49, a fierce critic of Shehbaz Sharif-led incumbent coalition government and the country’s military establishment, was shot dead in Nairobi on October 23. He was considered a staunch supporter of former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party.
Arshad fled the country in August as multiple sedition cases were registered against him after PTI leader and Imran’s top aide Shahbaz Gill made anti-military remarks during his TV talk show.
According to Kenyan authorities, the journalist was shot when his vehicle was targeted by police after it failed to stop at a checkpoint on the Nairobi-Magadi highway.
Sharif’s remains were brought back to Pakistan early Wednesday and received by his family members, former colleagues and supporters at the Islamabad airport.