Pakistan will hold a formal inquiry into the killing in Kenya of a top TV news anchor Arshad Sharif who fled the country to avoid sedition charges.

Arshad Sharif, a strident critic of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment and supporter of former premier Imran Khan, died when Kenyan police opened fire on his car at a roadblock outside the capital at the weekend.

Kenyan officials say it was a case of mistaken identity, as officers thought they were firing on a stolen vehicle involved in abduction.

Mainstream and social media in Pakistan were rife with speculation that Sharif, who had spoken publicly about death threats against him, had been deliberately targeted.

Sharif fled the country in August, days after interviewing senior opposition politician Shahbaz Gill, who said junior officers in Pakistan’s military should disobey orders that went against “the will of the majority”.

The comment led to the news channel being briefly taken off air and an arrest warrant issued for Sharif.

Sharif’s body was due to be returned to Pakistan on Wednesday, his wife tweeted.

Pakistan is ranked 157 out of 180 countries in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters without Borders, with journalists facing censorship and intimidation.