Arshad Sharif was receiving threats, killed in 'targeted attack': Imran Khan

PESHAWAR: Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was killed in a "targeted attack", PTI chief Imran Khan claimed Tuesday.

Addressing a lawyer’s convention in the provincial capital, the PTI chief said: “No matter what anyone says, I know that Sharif became a victim of target killing."

Sharif was shot dead by the Kenyan Police in a “mistaken identity” case while he was travelling to Nairobi from Kenya’s Magadi town on October 23.

In line with his stance on the journalist's killing, Khan said: “I had received information that Sharif would be killed so that truth could be silenced.”

The former premier also claimed that Sharif was receiving threats from unknown numbers.

Stating that Khan considered Sharif Sharif the most respected figure in journalism, he said: “I told him to leave the country, but he did not listen."

'Allah has not allowed anybody to remain neutral'

The PTI chief also spoke about the alleged torture that his party member Senator Azam Khan Swati was subjected to after he was arrested by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) in a case related to "controversial" tweets.

“They stripped and assaulted 75-year-old Senator Azam Swati. Pakistan was mocked around the world,” the former premier said while sharing his resolve to "fight the oppressors for as long as he is alive."

Reiterating his stance on “neutrals”, Khan said that Allah has not allowed anyone to remain neutral.

“You either side with the dacoits or stay on the right path,” the PTI chairman said.

Addressing lawyers at the event, the former prime minister urged them to stand with his party.

“We need the lawyers' community the most,” he said, adding that he has never seen the rule of law prevail in Pakistan.

“In a humanitarian society, the law is equal for everyone. In Riyasat-e-Madina, justice was established first and prosperity came later,” Khan reiterated and stressed that a nation is destroyed if it doesn’t struggle for justice.