Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif's widow writes open letter to Ruto

Javeria Siddique, the widow of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, says justice is yet to be served in regard to the death of her husband. [Courtesy of The Friday Times]

Javeria Siddique, the widow of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, has written an open letter to Kenya's President William Ruto.

Her husband Sharif was shot and killed by police officers in Kenya in October this year. Police said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Preliminary investigations done by Pakistani officials suggest that Sharif's death could have been premeditated.

The slain journalist was a strong critic of the Pakistani leadership.

Sharif's widow on Wednesday, December 21, took to Twitter to write an open letter to President Ruto.

She copied the letter to Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Alfred Mutua, his ICT and Digital Economy counterpart Eliud Owalo and the Amnesty International.

Below is Siddique's open letter to President Ruto:

"H.E William Ruto,

"I am writing on behalf of the bereaved family of late Arshad Sharif, a dedicated, committed and resilient journalist from Pakistan whose blood, condemnably and mercilessly, spilt on your soil.

"The underlying factors that led to the premeditated murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif need to be unearthed for meeting the ends of justice we all behold.

"The whole Pakistan is grieving the untimely and inhumane death of Arshad Sharif. We look forward to seeing you help us afford at least a modicum of opportunity to feel peace and solace by unearthing the truth and bringing the culprits to justice.

"At this time of grief and anguish, a great responsibility is on you to provide us with the true information what painful details Arshad Sharif went through during his last moments of life.

"I request that you mandate relevant authorities of yours to transparently investigate the true facts behind this brutal murder and bring to justice all those who are part of this heinous crime.

"We, the people of Pakistan, anticipate a humane and considerate response.

"Citizen of Pakistan."

Police in Kenya said Sharif was killed in a case of mistaken identity after another vehicle was reported missing in Nairobi.

Sharif was travelling in a sport utility vehicle in Kajiado County, when the vehicle he was in was shot at ten times.

Sharif died of bullet injuries.

Last month, Pakistan's Interior minister Rana Sanaullah told journalists that evidence suggested Sharif was a victim of a targeted killing in Kenya, and not an accidental shooting.

"Arshad Sharif's death is not a case of mistaken identity. The evidence we have so far indicates that he was a victim of targeted killing," said the minister.

"We, however, still need to obtain more [evidence] to confirm all this ... and we have asked the Kenyan government for more data," said Sanaullah.