Hospital to formally begin probe into Arshad Sharif’s leaked photos during autopsy on Monday

The wooden coffin containing the body of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead when police hunting car thieves opened fire on the vehicle he was traveling in as it drove through their roadblock without stopping, is loaded into a courtesy van at the Chiromo mortuary in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 24, 2022. (REUTERS)

• A Pakistani news channel recently shared pictures of the slain journalist, saying he had been tortured before his death in Kenya
• The hospital also wants Pakistan’s media regulatory authority to act against the news channel for airing ‘unethical’ content

ISLAMABAD: An inquiry committee at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) will formally initiate an investigation on Monday to determine how journalist Arshad Sharif’s photographs taken during his autopsy were leaked to a private news channel. 
A prominent Pakistani broadcaster who became a harsh critic of the incumbent government and the military toward the end of his life, Sharif was killed on October 23 when his car was said to have sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital, prompting the police to open fire. 
The law enforcement officials in Nairobi expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a car involved in a child abduction case. However, a Pakistani team of investigators that recently visited Kenya questioned the narrative of the officials in Nairobi while describing Sharif as “a victim of targeted killing.” 
A Pakistani news channel, Dunya TV, recently shared pictures of the slain journalist taken during the autopsy, saying he had been tortured before his death. 
“The following officers/officials are hereby requested to attend the inquiry committee meeting on 14/11/2022 at 9:30AM in Conference Room, IH, PIMS,” said the commission’s head, Dr. Naveed A. Shaikh, in a circular issued on Saturday in which he listed down the names of doctors and technical workers involved with Sharif’s autopsy. 
The two-member inquiry committee was formed the hospital director, Dr. Khalid Masud, on Friday and asked to submit its report within three days. 
It may be recalled that Sharif’s mother had approached the Islamabad High Court earlier this month to get her son’s delayed postmortem report. 
She also requested the court that the document should not be made public without her family’s permission. 
According to local media reports, the hospital authorities have also decided to approach Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) against the news channel for showing Sharif’s photographs and hurting “the family’s feelings.” 
“In my opinion, it was unethical and Pemra should take notice,” the hospital director told Dawn newspaper.