FIA-led team to visit Kenya for probing Arshad Sharif murder

ISLAMABAD, Oct 26 (NNI): The government has formed a two-member investigation team consisting of spooks from the country’s top intelligence agencies to investigate the murder of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
The Interior Ministry has issued a notification in this regard. The investigation team will go to Kenya to collect evidence.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Athar Waheed has been appointed as the head of the investigation team. The other member of the team is Intelligence Bureau (IB) Deputy Director General Umar Shahid Hamid.
According to the official sources, the team includes the officers of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) only.
No officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI) is included in the team, the sources added.
The team will immediately leave for Kenya for investigating the murder of Arshad Sharif. The Pakistani High Commission will help the team to investigate the incident. The team will submit its report to the Interior Ministry after completing the investigation.
The post-mortem of the body of senior journalist Arshad Sharif was completed, and the body was moved from PIMS.
His funeral prayers will be offered tomorrow at 2pm at Faisal Mosque, Islamabad. He will be laid to rest in H-11 graveyard of Islamabad.
The body of Arshad Sharif was moved from Quaid-e-Azam Hospital to PIMS where medical board was also formed for the post-mortem of Arshad Sharif’s body.
Six senior doctors were included in the medical board. Among them were clinicians, surgeons and medico-legal officers. Dr Farah Kamala led the medical board.
Earlier, the body of Arshad Sharif arrived at Islamabad Airport on Tuesday night and was moved to Quaid-e-Azam Hospital.
The post-mortem of the body of Arshad Sharif will be carried out again in Pakistan, his family confirmed.
“A senior surgeon should be there during the post-mortem at PIMS,” the mother of Arshad Sharif demanded. “Arshad Sharif’s body will be shifted to PIMS in the morning,” the authorities concerned had said.
Earlier, the officials of the Ministry of Interior Affairs were present at the Islamabad International Airport to receive the body of Arshad Sharif.
On the occasion, strict security arrangements had been ensured at the airport.
It is to be noted here that Arshad Sharif will be laid to rest in Islamabad on Thursday (tomorrow).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced yesterday to form an investigation team to probe the murder of the late journalist in Kenya, to be headed by a judge of the high court.
The prime minister took the decision after receiving a letter from the military headquarters urging setting up of a commission of inquiry and also seeking legal action against those hurling accusations as the Army.
Personnel of Islamabad police and Frontier Corps (FC) have been deployed outside the Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital in the federal capital where the body of late Arshad Sharif was kept in the cold room. NNI