ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead in Kenya last week, was laid to rest on Thursday in Islamabad after thousands attended his funeral prayers at the Shah Faisal Mosque in the federal capital and demanded that the killing be properly investigated.
A hugely popular talk show host, Sharif was of late a harsh critic of the current ruling coalition and the army, and fled the country in August, citing threats to his life. He was believed to have been in the United Arab Emirates since he left Pakistan and had recently traveled to Kenya where he was killed on Sunday by Kenyan police who say it was a case of “mistaken identity.”
On Thursday afternoon, prominent journalists, top politicians and thousands of members of the public filled the inside and outside of Shah Faisal Mosque to attend Sharif’s funeral prayers. It is rare in the history of Pakistan for a journalist to have such a large funeral procession.
Funeral prayers in absentia were also arranged in cities around the country.
“Arshad Sharif was a real voice of the voiceless. He was fighting for us and for a better future for our children,” Raja Waseem, who attended the funeral, told Arab News. “I have come to offer his funeral along with my two younger brothers.”
Family members, center, and others attend the funeral prayer of slain senior Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 27, 2022. (AP)
Emotions ran high after the funeral and people chanted slogans like “Arshad, your blood will bring revolution,” outside the mosque and later the cemetery.
“I regularly watched Arshad’s television programs and he was a thorough professional and only pointing out the wrongs in our society and the institutions,” a participant at the funeral prayers, Malik Miraj Mohammad, told Arab News. “He didn’t deserve this. A fair and transparent inquiry should bring forth all the facts behind his murder.”
People attend the funeral prayer of slain senior Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 27, 2022. (AP)
Security around the Shah Faisal Mosque was beefed up ahead of the funeral and traffic sergeants were deployed in large number to ensure smooth flow of vehicles in and around the mosque. Long lines of cars were seen outside the mosque as well as the graveyard where Sharif was buried.
Mourners leave after attending the funeral ceremony of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead by police in Kenya, at the Faisal mosque in Islamabad on October 27, 2022. (AFP)
Many participants had to park their cars and motorcycles up to four kilometers away from the mosque and walk to attend the funeral prayers.
“Arshad Sharif proved through his sacrifice that he was a patriot, and we hope his sacrifice will help bring positive change in the society,” Mohammad Arshad, who traveled from Jhelum to attend the funeral, told Arab News.
People gathered to attend the funeral prayers of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif at Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad on October 27, 2022. (AN Photo)
A large number of workers and supports of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also attended the funeral while ex-PM Imran Khan attended Sharif’s funeral in absentia in Lahore.
After the funeral prayer, Sharif’s coffin was transported to H-11 cemetery for burial where hundreds of the mourners were stuck in long queues of traffic. The Pakistan army also paid tribute to the journalist and a garland from Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was laid at his grave.
People carry the casket of slain senior Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif after his funeral prayer, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 27, 2022. (AP)
The Pakistan government on Wednesday announced it was sending a two-member team to Kenya to “ascertain the facts” surrounding Sharif’s murder. His body arrived in Pakistan in the wee hours of Wednesday. A post-mortem was completed that evening.
Sharif left Pakistan in August after going into hiding in his own country in July to avoid arrest following a citizen’s complaint against him on allegations of maligning the country’s national institutions, a reference to the military. His whereabouts were not publicly known.
A month later, Sharif’s employer, the private ARY Television, fired him, saying he had violated the TV station’s social media policy. His talk show Power Play was discontinued.
The TV channel had earlier in the year remained critical of Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif following the ouster of his predecessor, Imran Khan, in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April. ARY and Sharif were widely considered to report in support of Khan and his party.
