Ambassador: Pakistan journalist Arshad Shariff was not assassinated

The assassination of prominent Pakistan journalist Arshad Shariff in Magadi on Sunday will have no impact on bilateral relations between Pakistan and Kenya.

However, the high commissioner to Kenya, Seqlain Syedah, said she expects a thorough investigation into what led to the fatal shooting of the renowned journalist.

Syedah addressed the press at Chiromo mortuary where Shariff's body was taken. She added that bilateral ties will not be affected because police had already launched investigations into the incident.

Investigative Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif.

Also present at the mortuary were several Pakistanis residing in the country. Police drawn from the Diplomatic Police Unit and those from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Homicide Unit spent the better part of the day at the morgue.

Government chief pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor conducted the autopsy, which showed the journalist died as a result of bleeding from the shoulder and head.

Syedah said the journalist was on a tourist visa in Kenya and was not facing persecution in his home country.

"This was a prominent journalist in Pakistan who was both a journalist and a blogger. He was not being persecuted by anyone," Syedah said amid speculation that Shariff, a vocal critic of the Pakistani government, had been assassinated.

However, the diplomat insisted that Shariff's shooting was the result of mistaken identity after the vehicle he was travelling in with a driver was reported stolen by police.

Contrary to earlier reports that Kurram Ahmed, who was driving, was Shariff's brother, Syedah said the man was being hosted by the journalist.

"The driver is in good shape and responding well after the incident." Syedah did not respond to questions on whether Ahmed sustained injuries or where he currently is.

Shariff's body will be flown to Pakistan on the next available flight, the diplomat said.