The Foreign Office spokesperson has denied the reports that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had written any letter to the UAE authorities, seeking expulsion of slain journalist Arshad Sharif from the Gulf country. The 49-year-old journalist fled Pakistan in August this year to avoid arrest after he was implicated in multiple cases, including sedition charges over an interview with PTI leader Shahbaz Gill during which the latter had made controversial comments. Alleging threats to his life, Arshad had moved to Dubai in August and later relocated to Nairobi in Kenya. Arshad was shot dead by the Kenyan police in a case of “mistaken identity” while he was travelling to Nairobi from Magadi town on Sunday night, October 23. Following his death, many on social media including some PTI leaders had claimed that Sharif left for Kenya after UAE authorities refused to renew his via on the request of Pakistani officials. In a weekly briefing on Friday, FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar termed the claims “baseless and fabricated”, saying it was essential that the journalist’s murder should be probed to establish the truth. “We should wait for the investigation report of Kenyan and Pakistani inquiry committees,” he added. Also read: ISI official excluded from Arshad’s murder probe The interior ministry on Wednesday removed a representative of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) from the list of officials, who would be part of a team formed to ascertain the facts in the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. In a revised notification, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the ministry removed the ISI official's name from the body. However, it provided no explanation as to why the ISI officer was taken off the team. The new notification was issued hours after the ministry had named three officials for the high-profile team – Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Athar Waheed, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Deputy Director General Omar Shahid Hamid and ISI's Lt Col Saad Ahmed. According to the notification, the two-member team, comprising the FIA and IB officials would leave for Kenya immediately. It added that the foreign ministry and the Pakistan’s High Commission in Nairobi would facilitate the team during the visit.
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