LONDON: Scotland Yard has dropped the investigation against former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and their associates following allegations linking them to the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and an attack on jailed Imran Khan in Wazirabad approximately two years ago.
According to Pakistan’s Geo News, the Counter Terrorism Command Unit of Scotland Yard has determined that there are insufficient grounds to initiate a formal investigation, as complainant Sayed Tasnim Haider did not provide evidence substantiating his claims against the Sharifs and their colleagues Mian Saleem Raza, Nasir Mahmood, Zubair Gull, and Rashid Nasrullah.
In November 2022, Haider, a senior UK activist for PML-N, garnered attention when he alleged he possessed evidence implicating the Sharifs, Mahmood, Raza, Gull, and Nasrullah in a conspiracy to murder Arshad in London on Eid day, July 8, 2022. Responding to these allegations, the Metropolitan Police initiated a scoping exercise to assess the claims and examine the evidence.
Haider made these assertions during a press conference in London alongside his solicitor Mahtab Anwar Aziz, and both individuals attended police stations and media engagements to stress the presence of ample evidence linking the Sharifs and their associates to the case. The seriousness of the allegations prompted Scotland Yard’s Central West Command Unit to refer the matter to its Counter Terrorism Command Unit, SO15.
After an 18-month assessment, the police informed Geo News that they “will not be commencing an investigation here in the UK” due to insufficient evidence.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Geo News, “In November 2022, the Met Police received reports from a complainant regarding allegations of conspiracy to commit murder in Pakistan and Kenya. The information was initially reviewed by officers from the Central West Command Unit but was subsequently passed to the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command due to the international aspects of the allegations.”
The police conducted a thorough review of the allegations and information provided to determine whether to launch an investigation. They concluded that there were not enough grounds to initiate an investigation in the UK, and therefore, no further action would be taken. The complainant has been notified of this outcome.
The police source noted that the initial complaint, made in London on November 5, 2022, alleged that Nawaz and Maryam Sharif orchestrated an attack on Imran Khan from London. The police did not act on this complaint due to lack of evidence.
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, was shot and wounded on November 1, 2022, during an incident in Wazirabad when an individual opened fire on the container carrying him and other senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party during their ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ march at Allahwala Chowk.
On November 20, 2022, Haider and Aziz held a press conference where Haider claimed that the police were investigating the case and had provided evidence on three occasions. Haider alleged that the plan to attack Arshad was devised in London and that, on September 20, 2022, a colleague of Nawaz Sharif asked him to arrange shooters in Kenya to target Arshad.
