Senior Pakistan journalist Arshad Sharif died in Kenya reportedly after being shot, his wife said on Monday.
“I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist @arsched today, as per police he was shot in Kenya. Respect our privacy and in the name of breaking pls don’t share our family pics, personal details and his last pictures from hospital. Remember us in ur prayers,” Sharif’s wife Javeria Siddique said in a Twitter post. Initial media reports had claimed that Sharif died in an accident. Pakistan Foreign Office has said that their High Commission in Kenya was gathering information from the authorities.
Many prominent Pakistanis and media community members expressed condolences after the news broke about Arshad Sharif’s death.
Former Pakistani parliamentarian Farahnaz Ispahani expressed her deepest condolences. “What a huge & shocking loss. May he rest in eternal peace.”
“Heartfelt condolences. He and you are in our thoughts and prayers,” said former Pakistan envoy to the US, Husain Haqqani.
Ary news journalist Kashif Abbasi tweeted, “My brother, my friend my colleague arshad shareef was shot dead in Kenya..I still can’t believe it. It’s beyond heart breaking.this is just wrong.. this is painful.. I love u brother.”
Pakistan is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to corruption or illegal trafficking and go completely unpunished, according to a Paris-based media watchdog.
“Any journalist who crosses the red lines dictated by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – an intelligence agency offshoot – is liable to be the target of in-depth surveillance that could lead to abduction and detention for varying lengths of time in the state’s prisons or less official jails,” said Reporters Without Borders.
Furthermore, the watchdog said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s leading military intelligence agency, is prepared to silence any criticism.
