The Kenyan government authorities have explicitly informed Islamabad that they will no longer support the investigations conducted by Pakistani officials in the murder case of journalist Arshad Sharif in response to Islamabad's request to the Kenya Foreign Office for authorization to open a new investigation, The News reported on Wednesday.
The sources on both sides agreed that the Kenyan government explicitly said five times that it had provided enough assistance and would no longer permit further investigations in the African country.
They further stated that the Kenyan government informed its Pakistani counterparts that while it had offered two Pakistani investigators—Omar Shahid Hamid of the Intelligence Bureau and Dr. Athar Waheed of the Federal Investigation Agency—every assistance available, it was unwilling to do so once more.
"No further research will produce a different conclusion. We assisted Pakistan as much as we could, and that is all, according to a reliable source in the Kenyan government.
According to the source, the Kenyan government, police, and intelligence services are "very upset" about the findings of the damning report by Hamid and Dr. Waheed, which found that there was a strong case for a murder conspiracy prior to Sharif's assassination, that the Kenyan police may have been complicit, were unprofessional, and frequently changed their statements, that there had been a murder plot cover-up, and that Kenyan authorities lacked the motivation to properly investigate the murder case.
According to the Kenyan government study, which has not yet been made public, Sharif was shot and murdered by four paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) troops at a roadblock when his driver, Khurram Ahmed, failed to halt. The report also claims that no murderous plot was in place.
Since then, Pakistanis have requested that Kenya's government inform Pakistani authorities of this report, but Kenya's government has declined.
A new investigation was ordered after a suo motu notice was heard by a five-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and including Justices Ijaz ul Ahsan, Muneeb Akhtar, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
Since then, Islamabad has written to Kenya numerous times, citing SC directives, but the Kenyan government has informed the authorities that the essential cooperation had already been given and that the orders of the Supreme Court were a problem for Pakistan, the source said.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was established by the highest court to look into Sharif's murder, informed the court in the second week of February that no reliable evidence was discovered there. They also cited the Kenyan government's lack of cooperation.
The team had been to Kenya at the SC's request, and it was later discovered that the team had been instructed not to perform any work and warned that doing so would violate local regulations.
Arshad Sharif was returning to Nairobi from Kenya's Magadi Town when Kenyan police fatally shot him in what they described as a "mistaken identity" case.
The truck allegedly broke through a barrier, according to Kenyan police, who then opened fire. Awais Ahmed, the second JIT head, has already informed the SC that the team did not find reliable evidence in Kenya and that the foreign government's authorities did not grant access to any relevant evidence.
Kenyan reports claim that Pakistani investigators want access to Kenya's own records as well as visits to the scene of the incident, the AmmoDump camp, and Sharif's flat.
However, they were informed that none of this was feasible and that no Kenyan official could assist the Pakistani investigators. Since then, the Pakistan Foreign Office has written to Kenya's foreign ministry and asked Kenya's diplomatic office for assistance, but has been categorically informed that there will be no more assistance.
According to Sharif's family, acquaintances, and the Pakistani media, the veteran journalist was murdered in Kenya as part of an organized murder attack.
The sources on both sides agreed that the Kenyan government explicitly said five times that it had provided enough assistance and would no longer permit further investigations in the African country.
They further stated that the Kenyan government informed its Pakistani counterparts that while it had offered two Pakistani investigators—Omar Shahid Hamid of the Intelligence Bureau and Dr. Athar Waheed of the Federal Investigation Agency—every assistance available, it was unwilling to do so once more.
"No further research will produce a different conclusion. We assisted Pakistan as much as we could, and that is all, according to a reliable source in the Kenyan government.
According to the source, the Kenyan government, police, and intelligence services are "very upset" about the findings of the damning report by Hamid and Dr. Waheed, which found that there was a strong case for a murder conspiracy prior to Sharif's assassination, that the Kenyan police may have been complicit, were unprofessional, and frequently changed their statements, that there had been a murder plot cover-up, and that Kenyan authorities lacked the motivation to properly investigate the murder case.
According to the Kenyan government study, which has not yet been made public, Sharif was shot and murdered by four paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) troops at a roadblock when his driver, Khurram Ahmed, failed to halt. The report also claims that no murderous plot was in place.
Since then, Pakistanis have requested that Kenya's government inform Pakistani authorities of this report, but Kenya's government has declined.
A new investigation was ordered after a suo motu notice was heard by a five-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and including Justices Ijaz ul Ahsan, Muneeb Akhtar, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
Since then, Islamabad has written to Kenya numerous times, citing SC directives, but the Kenyan government has informed the authorities that the essential cooperation had already been given and that the orders of the Supreme Court were a problem for Pakistan, the source said.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was established by the highest court to look into Sharif's murder, informed the court in the second week of February that no reliable evidence was discovered there. They also cited the Kenyan government's lack of cooperation.
The team had been to Kenya at the SC's request, and it was later discovered that the team had been instructed not to perform any work and warned that doing so would violate local regulations.
Arshad Sharif was returning to Nairobi from Kenya's Magadi Town when Kenyan police fatally shot him in what they described as a "mistaken identity" case.
The truck allegedly broke through a barrier, according to Kenyan police, who then opened fire. Awais Ahmed, the second JIT head, has already informed the SC that the team did not find reliable evidence in Kenya and that the foreign government's authorities did not grant access to any relevant evidence.
Kenyan reports claim that Pakistani investigators want access to Kenya's own records as well as visits to the scene of the incident, the AmmoDump camp, and Sharif's flat.
However, they were informed that none of this was feasible and that no Kenyan official could assist the Pakistani investigators. Since then, the Pakistan Foreign Office has written to Kenya's foreign ministry and asked Kenya's diplomatic office for assistance, but has been categorically informed that there will be no more assistance.
According to Sharif's family, acquaintances, and the Pakistani media, the veteran journalist was murdered in Kenya as part of an organized murder attack.