Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar is addressing a press conference on the death of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. 

“The purpose of this press conference is to inform you about the death of prominent senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it,” said DG ISPR in the press conference from Rawalpindi. 

Lt Gen Iftikhar said that the press conference is being done at a time when it is “important to present the facts correctly” so “fact, fiction and opinion” can be differentiated. He also shared that the military’s media wing has informed PM Shehbaz Sharif about the press conference. 

The head of the military’s media wing said that there is a need to examine the “under which a false narrative has been made and people have been mislead”.

“Institutions, leadership and even the chief of army staff has been accused without a reason to create an extraordinary chaotic situation,” said the DG ISPR. 

Lt Gen Iftikhar said that Sharif’s death was a “very tragic incident”. He called the senior journalist an icon of Pakistani journalism, a martyr’s son and a martyr’s brother and a serving officer’s brother-in-law. His programmes will be seen as a role model for journalists, he added.

“Since Arshad was an investigative journalist, he also looked into the cypher issue when it surfaced,” shared DG ISPR. He also highlighted that the journalist had also interviewed the then prime minister Imran Khan on the issue, adding that at the time it was claimed that he was shown the document. 

“Facts linked with the cypher and Arshad Sharif’s death need to be found. So there is no ambiguity left in this regard,” said the DG ISPR. 

More to follow…