Journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead in Kenya, his wife Javeria Siddique confirmed on Monday morning.
In her tweet, she wrote, “I lost friend, husband, and my favorite journalist Arshad 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 the hospital. Remember us in your prayers.”
The motives behind his murder are yet to be ascertained.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan’s High Commission in Kenya was ascertaining information from the authorities.
President Arif Alvi offered condolences to the bereaved family of Arshad Sharif.
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, political leaders, and the Journalists fraternity also extended their condolences to the Sharif family after his demise.
Journalist and anchorperson Kashif Abbasi tweeted, “This is just wrong. This is painful.”
Senior Journalist Mazhar Abbas appealed to the International Federation of Journalists Asia and Committee to Protect Journalists to constitute a ‘Fact-Finding Mission’ to probe the killing of Arshad Sharif. This case unlike many journalist murders should not go unnoticed, he added.
“Unbelievable. May Allah rest the soul of Arshad Sharif in peace. Ameen,” journalist Hamid Mir tweeted.
Arshad Sharif was in the news in August when police booked several Privaate News journalists after PTI leader Shahbaz Gill made a controversial statement about the military in a live phone-in conversation on TV. Gill was arrested and charged with inciting the personnel of the armed forces to mutiny.
Other Private News journalists, however, were named in the FIR against the TV and stayed in Pakistan but Arshad Sharif had left the country.
Days after his departure, Private News issued a statement to announce that it was parting ways with Sharif.
Arshad Sharif was spotted in London soon after leaving Pakistan. It was not immediately clear what brought him to Nairobi.