Daily Times

PTI leader Faisal Vawda on Wednesday claimed that journalist Arshad Sharif’s murder was “pre-planned” and “conspired in Pakistan”, adding that the evidence of the crime has been erased, a private TV channel reported.

At a press conference in the Islamabad Press Club, he vowed to reveal the truth behind Sharif’s killing. “No evidence or Arshad’s mobile or laptop will be found because they have been erased. “This is a cold-blooded planned murder,” he alleged, adding that he was in contact with the journalist since the day Sharif left the country. “It is being said that around 20 bullets were shot and Arshad Sharif was killed. But this did not happen. According to me, he was shot from inside the car or close range. He received 2 bullets, in the head and chest, not 20 bullets.”

Vawda claimed that the story regarding a child’s kidnapping surrounding the journalist’s murder was false, saying that if a child was present in the car, why would the police open fire. “This was cold planned brutal murder just of Arshad Sharif in this car, not anyone else.” The PTI leader said that he won’t name the people involved in the crime. “I have made a video and have given names of those people […] I have given those names internationally. I have given millions of dollars. I have a clear message, if I am shot and killed then you’ll be killed too.” He went on to claim that the “conspiracy [regarding the journalist’s murder] began when FIRs (first information reports) were lodges against Arshad Sharif”, alleging that the journalist was not ready to leave the country. “The conspirators scared him and made him desperate to leave the country. He then reached Dubai and it was said that establishment or an unnamed institution put pressure to get him out […] but this is also false and a lie. “He stayed in Dubai as per the visa limit, when it expired then he had to leave. The diversion to London was told but he didn’t go there,” Vawda claimed.

He said that Arshad Sharif was steadfast on his stance and no one could buy him. “In coming days I will uncover all the curtains. I have told my family if something happens to me then as gifts you will get their bodies too. “No normal person could have sent Arshad Sharif to Kenya. Who hid him and was in contact with him in Kenya? Behind it are those conspirators and liars who want to break the country, break my party and damage this country,” he alleged.

Vawda also claimed that the establishment had been in contact with Arshad Sharif. “He was ready to come back to Pakistan. He had no issue. Then fear was set in that lets get him killed so evidence will be gone and a fire will erupt. “Now you all will ask me, how do I know all this and why. When Arshad Sharif went from this country, from that day to last days, I was in contact with him and my phone is available for forensic analysis,” he said. The PTI leader continued that the players of the “conspiracy in Pakistan” were present inside the country and were “internationally connected”.