https://arab.news/ysuyu
- Faisal Vawda says slain Pakistani journalist had only received "two bullets in his chest and head"
- Says Sharif’s cellphone or laptop could not be found as all evidence in the case had been erased
ISLAMABAD: A leader of former prime minister Imran Khan’s political party told a news conference on Wednesday Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya was masterminded in Pakistan and he was shot from close range.
According to the authorities in the East African country, the Pakistani journalist was killed Sunday night when the car he was in sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital, prompting police to open fire. Nairobi police say the shooting was being treated as a case of mistaken identity.
However, Faisal Vawda, who served as federal minister for water resources in Khan’s administration, called Sharif’s “murder” premeditated while claiming that he was shot by someone inside his vehicle.
“It is not like 20 bullets were fired and Arshad Sharif was martyred,” he told journalists at the National Press Club in Islamabad. “In my estimation, Arshad Sharif was shot from inside the car or at close range.”
He said the slain Pakistani journalist had only received “two bullets in his chest and head.”
Vawda maintained no one would find Sharif’s cellphone or laptop since all evidence in the case had already been erased. He said he knew all these facts since he had never lost contact with the journalist.
The former federal minister refused to identify anyone behind Sharif’s killing, though he said he had named them in a video and given “millions of dollars” to kill them if he was shot.
He also maintained the establishment had played no role in Sharif’s killing since he had positive relations with them.
Vawda said he foresaw plenty of blood and funerals in the coming days, adding he was willing to share all the evidence in Sharif’s murder case with his party chairman along with the top intelligence agencies of the country.