01 FRONT PAGE (25-10-2022)_Layout 1 10/25/2022 1:32 AM Page 1
Tuesday, 25 October, 2022 I 28 Rabi ul Awwal, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 116 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
DARK DAY FOR JOURNALISM
ArshAd shArif dies in mysterious KenyA ‘police shooting’ g
PM Shehbaz contacts Kenyan President for probe ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
RSHAD Sharif, a journalist fiercely critical of the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and was on the run after being charged with sedition for criticising the military, was shot dead, allegedly by police, near Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi in the wee hours of Monday. “I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist today […] as per police, he was shot in Kenya,” Javeria Siddique, the spouse of the journalist tweeted on early Monday morning. MURdER UNdER MySTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES: Mystery shrouds the murder of Arshad Sharif who was working on a documentary to expose the alleged corruption of Nawaz Sharif family. “There is an alleged police killing of a Pakistani national,” Anne Makori, head of the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) in Nairobi, told reporters on Monday. “Our rapid response team has already been dispatched to investigate the killing of the journalist,” she said. A Kenyan senior police officer was quoted in the media saying, “we had an incident of shooting which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity involv-
ing a journalist. We will release more information later”. However, some Kenyan journalists and lawyers have raised various questions about police claims on their Twitter accounts. Eliud Kibbii, a Kenyan journalist, wrote that the police statement on the killing of Arshad Sharif had too many gaps. “First, if it was a case of a stolen vehicle, the number plates of the stolen car and the one Arshad was are different. They don’t say the make (of the car). By the time of the incident, the ‘abducted’ son had been found”. In a subsequent tweet, Eliud stated that the Police now say the road was blocked “with small stones” and on passing them, there was a shooting by GSU officers. “Interestingly, no chase to recover the “stolen” vehicle is reported. We have a problem here,” he added. Investigative journalist Brian Obuya has alleged that Sharif’s body was found several kilometers away from where the police say the shooting occurred. Further details on the matter are expected to come forward as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority will take over the case. A Kenyan lawyer also commented on the extrajudicial killings through
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Imran demands ‘ proper judicial investigation’, says Pakistan ‘descended into a state of brutality ’
‘death squads’ allegedly run by Kenyan Police. Sharif was a frequent critic of the military establishment and supporter of former prime minister Imran Khan. He went into exile — first in Dubai and later in London — after his last employer, ARY News, fired him in September. At the time, colleague and senior journalist Imran Riaz Khan, himself a victim of notorious sedition laws, said Sharif was receiving death threats. It wasn’t immediately clear when and why he traveled to the East African country.
FO to facilitate early return of Arshad Sharif’s body The Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan has expressed its condolences on the sudden demise of senior journalist Arshad Sharif and said that the Pakistani High Commission in Kenya will facilitate the early return of his body. The Foreign Office’s condolence statement on the martyrdom of Pakistan’s senior journalist and former anchorperson of ARY News Arshad Sharif said that the Pakistani High Commis-
sioner received the initial information of his death on the morning of October 24, after which the HC contacted Kenyan police officials, ministry of foreign affairs and the office of the Kenyan vice president. According to the FO spokesman, after receiving information about the incident, the people of the High Commission mission reached the spot and got information about the incident and identified the body. Later, Kenyan media reported that Arshad Sharif was shot by the local police in a case of ‘mistaken identity.’ Briefing the media on the development, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Pakistan’s ambassador to Kenya, Syeda Saqlain, Kenyan police officials and doctors are currently at the mortuary in Nairobi where the ambassador has identified Sharif’s body. The minister also said that after identification, the process to repatriate the deceased has been initiated. She also added that Kenyan authorities have been requested to complete the regulatory process as soon as possible. PM Shehbaz phones Kenyan President to press for impartial probe into Arshad Sharif’s killing.
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Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar tenders resignation ISLAMABAD ByStaff RepoRt
In a late night develop ment, Mr Azam Nasir Tarar tendered resignation as Law Minister due to his personal reasons, Pakistan Today learnt through reliable sources. However, the sources said that the competent authority was yet to accept the resignation. Another source privy to the development said that anti-army sloganeering in the reference held for late Asma Jahangir in Lahore the other day in presence of Law Minister had raised serious questions and the concerned quarters were unhappy over the silence of the law minister over the sloganeering. A lawyer closed to Tarar said that he supported Chief
Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s decision of elevating junior judges to the Supreme Court on the government’s instruction but “his conscious was not accepting it”. “Therefore he is resigning now,” the lawyer added. It is also learnt that powerful circles were unhappy over anti-state slogans during Asma Jahangir Conference where he was also present. The sources said that law minister had been directed to resign from office and he later tendered resignation. However, official sources confronted this allegation and said that Law Minister had tendered resignation due to his personal reasons and his resignation was pending for acceptance and any decision would be taken on the return of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
ECP disqualification doesn’t bar Imran from contesting elections: IHC ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
minister, becomes Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months, tasked with restoring stability to a country reeling from years of political and economic turmoil. The multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss would be expected to launch deep spending cuts to try to rebuild Britain’s fiscal reputation, just as the country slides into a recession, dragged down by the surging cost of energy and food. Britain has been locked in a state of perma-crisis ever since it voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, unleashing a battle at Westminster over the future of the country that remains unresolved to this today. The latest bout of drama has drawn dismay in foreign capitals and ridicule from the world’s press. Sunak came to national attention when, aged 39, he became finance minister under Johnson just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit Britain, developing the successful furlough scheme.
Interpreting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict in the foreign gifts reference against former prime minister Imran Khan, Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared he’s not been barred from contesting in future elections, observing he “won’t face any problems” to run in the NA-45 (Kurram-I) by-election scheduled for October 30. Chief Justice Athar Minallah made the observation on a petition moved by Khan against the election tribunal’s decision to disqualify him from holding office, declaring he had unlawfully sold state gifts and concealed the profit made from selling them as prime minister. The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana — which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the subcontinent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them. Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value. More expensive items must go to Toshakhana under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division, but in some cases, the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value — a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office. Khan is accused of failing to declare some gifts, or the profit made from selling them. During the proceedings on Monday, the judge turned down Khan’s request to instantly suspend the judgement and directed the commission to provide a signed copy of its short order to the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). On Friday, the day the petition was submitted, the registrar had raised objections to its content. On Monday, when Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, counsel for Khan, urged the court to start hearing the petition despite administrative objections by the registrar.
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Rishi Sunak becomes UK’s first PM of Indian origin as rivals quit race AgencIeS Rishi Sunak will become British prime minister on Monday after other candidates quit the race to lead the Conservative Party, leaving him with the task of steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn set to leave millions of people poorer. Sunak, one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster, will be asked to form a government by King Charles, replacing Liz Truss, the outgoing leader who only lasted 44 days in the job. He defeated centrist politician Penny Mordaunt, who failed to get enough backing from lawmakers to enter the ballot, while his rival, the former prime minister Boris Johnson, withdrew from the contest saying he could no longer unite the party. “This decision is a historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support,” Mordaunt said in a statement as she withdrew
from the race just minutes before the winner was due to be announced. The pound and British government bond prices jumped briefly on news of Mordaunt’s withdrawal but soon returned to their previous levels. Sunak, the 42-year-old former finance