Arshad Sharif had been receiving death threats for months, but he refused to seek asylum abroad, the wife of the slain journalist Arshad Sharif revealed on Monday.
“My last conversation with Arshad was at 10 pm on Sunday. After this, he did not respond to the message,” Arshad Sharif’s wife Javeria Siddiq said during an interview with Independent Urdu.
“I thought he would be busy with work. After some time, his number was also switched off,” Javeria said amid a string of mourners visiting her house “But at 2 a.m. he got a call from his friend in Nairobi that he had an accident. Then I was told he had been shot dead.”
The grieving widow further said that Arshad had been receiving death threats for the last six months which made him leave the country.
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. pic.twitter.com/wP1BJxqP5e— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) October 24, 2022
“When Arshad was asked to apply for asylum, he replied Pakistan is my country, my life and death are there. He said he would come to Pakistan for a few days.” She said.
“Now he’s coming back, but in a coffin,” the wife added.
Javeria further said that Taliban threatened to kill them six months ago. Afterward, Arshad went to Dubai.
“What is our enmity with the Taliban?” she asked “Arshad was in danger in Dubai, his killers followed him there too. It was not an accident, but a targeted murder and Arshad knew that his life was in danger.”
Javeria said that Arshad’s Dubai visa had expired, and he could not return to Pakistan due to threats, so he chose an African country where his friend was present who hosted him and on the night of the tragedy he was on his way to his friend’s farmhouse.
“Until yesterday, we didn’t know he was in Kenya,” she said “We just knew he was in an African country. He did not name the country due to security concerns.”
