A senior Pakistan journalist, who was booked on charges of sedition and peddling “anti-state” narrative by the country’s security agencies earlier this year, was shot dead in Kenya, his wife said on Monday.
Arshad Sharif, 49, a former reporter and TV anchor with ARY TV, and known for his proximity to former prime minister Imran Khan, had relocated to Kenya.
Sharif’s wife Javeria Siddique took to Twitter on Monday to confirm the news of his death.
"I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist today, as per police he was shot in Kenya,” she said in a tweet.
"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 (sic),” she added.
Sharif was shot and killed by the Kenyan police on Sunday night in what they called a case of “mistaken identity" during a search for a similar car involved in a case of child abduction, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya were ascertaining information from authorities, according to the Dawn newspaper.
On Monday, Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party and its senior leaders condemned Sharif's killing and demanded a detailed investigation.
“Shocked at the brutal murder of Arshad Sharif who paid the ultimate price for speaking the truth - his life. He had to leave the country & be in hiding abroad but he continued to speak the truth on social media, exposing the powerful. Today the entire nation mourns his death,” Khan tweeted.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened” by the shocking news of Sharif's tragic death.
“My deep condolences and prayers for the bereaved family,” Sharif said in a tweet.
In August, journalist Sharif was booked on charges of sedition for interviewing Khan’s close aide Shehbaz Gill.
In the interview, Gill criticised the Shehbaz government for trying to pitch Khan against the country’s powerful army.
Sharif subsequently fled the country, while ARY Network said it had “parted ways” with the journalist.
A month after Sharif left Pakistan, the ARY Television fired him, saying he had repeatedly criticised the military on social media in violation of the TV station's policy.
His talk show POWERPLAY, which aired on Mondays and Thursdays, was discontinued.
Sharif was born in the port city of Karachi in 1973, and started his journalistic career three decades ago.
He was awarded the ‘Pride of Performance’ in 2019 by Pakistan President Arif Alvi.
The journalist was last seen in the trailer of a documentary film titled “Behind Closed Doors.”
"Arshad Sharif’s death Is a great loss to journalism and Pakistan. May his soul rest in peace and may his family, which includes his followers, have the strength to bear this loss,” President Alvi said in a tweet.
His friends have called for an investigation into Sharif’s death.
