NEW DELHI: Leading Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif (pic), who fled his country earlier this year fearing a threat to his life, has been gunned down in Kenya.
“I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist today, as per police he was shot in Kenya,” his wife Javeria Siddique said on Twitter on Monday.
Many Pakistani journalists and activists reacted with shock and anger over the top television anchor’s murder.
On his television shows and social media, he regularly criticised the way former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from power in April.
“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 and be in hiding abroad but he continued to speak the truth on social media, exposing the powerful. Today the entire nation mourns his death,” Imran said.
ARY television channel, with which he was associated, announced in August that it had “parted ways” with him after a “journey of 8 years together”.
Before that, Arshad had left Pakistan fearing for his safety in the country.
The 49-year-old was one of Pakistan’s most popular names.
“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 Arif Alvi said.
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