Imran Khan claims Arshad Sharif killed in targeted attack

• Khan asked Sharif to leave country.
• Sharif was shot dead in "mistaken identity" case.
• PTI chief shares he respected Sharif the most in journalism.

PESHAWAR: PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has claimed that slain journalist Arshad Sharif has been killed in a "targeted attack."

“No matter what anyone says, I know that Arshad Sharif became a victim of target killing,” Khan claimed, while addressing a lawyer’s convention in Peshawar.

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

Commenting 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.

“I told him to leave the country, but he did not listen,” Khan shared, adding that he considered Sharif the most respected figure in journalism.

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.