• Arshad Sharif’s body has been sent to Pakistan, says Marriyum.
• Says the Kenyan government expedited legal processes on PM Shehbaz’s intervention. 
• Pakistani High Commissioner inspected the process until flight departed carrying his body, says Marriyum.

The Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that the body of senior investigative journalist Arshad Sharif has been dispatched to Pakistan.

As a result of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s conversation with the Kenyan President, legal processes were expedited.

The minister said that Pakistani High Commissioner Saqlain Syeda personally inspected the process for several hours as Sharif’s body was being sent to Pakistan. She stayed at the Nairobi airport for several hours until the body was sent to Pakistan, the PML-N leader said.

Flight QR1342, carrying the coffin of Arshad Sharif, departed from Nairobi at 3:25 PST. The flight will have a stopover in Qatar, according to sources. The flight QR0632, flying from Doha at 2235 PST today, will arrive at the Islamabad airport at 1am in Wednesday’s wee hours, according to sources.

The information minister said Arshad Sharif’s body was sent to Islamabad after the legal processes were completed.

In an earlier statement, Marriyum said that Arshad’s postmortem was completed. “The ambassador of Pakistan in Kenya is busy preparing the legal papers. As soon as the paperwork is completed, Arshad Sharif’s body will be brought back to the country,” she had said.

In her previous statement, she said that Prime Minister Shehbaz had requested the President of Kenya to send the body of Arshad Sharif back to the country as soon as possible.

The federal minister said that the prime minister is being kept informed about all the developments.

Kenyan police account of Arshad Sharif’s death

Sharif was gunned down when police, tracking down a jacked car, opened indiscriminate fire on the journalist’s automobile mistaking it for a stolen vehicle. A Kenyan police report said that they suspected the car had a minor hostage as it sped through a manned barricade without stopping.

Govt in contact with Kenyan authorities: FO

The Foreign Office of Pakistan said that the government is actively engaged with the Kenyan authorities at multiple levels for the speedy repatriation of the mortal remains of Sharif.

Pakistan has also officially asked Kenya to launch an investigation into the incident.

Acting Foreign Secretary Raza Bashir Tarar has also met with the Kenyan High Commissioner in Islamabad to impress upon the importance of the matter.

Tarar also briefed the honourable members of the National Assembly Foreign Relations Committee on the developments.