NEW YORK – In response to multiple news reports that prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was shot dead near Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:
“We are saddened by the tragic death of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Frankfurt, Germany. “CPJ is seeking further details about the incident. There must be a swift and transparent investigation by authorities into his death, and authorities must release the full details as soon as possible.”
Sharif, 49, previously worked as an anchor with Pakistan’s ARY TV, and it is not immediately clear why he was in Kenya. His wife, Javeria Siddique, confirmed the death on Twitter Monday, and police released a statement saying an officer fatally shot Sharif on Sunday in a remote area outside the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Sharif left Pakistan in August after an arrest warrant was issued following his interview on ARY TV with Shahbaz Gill, a close aide to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who made comments considered offensive by the military, according to those reports and CPJ reporting.
The ARY news channel was briefly taken off the air in Pakistan in August, and on August 31, the channel said it was parting ways with Sharif, citing a breach of conduct on social media.
