Arshad Sharif, prominent journalist who fled Pakistan, killed in shooting in Kenya
(CNSNews.com) – Gunmen who carried out a shootout in Kenya last week have shot and killed veteran Pakistani journalist Asad Sharif and wounded his 16-year-old son.
Sharif was shot in the head and died at a hospital in the capital, Nairobi, where he had worked for the past five years as a freelancer.
In a news conference broadcast on television, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the gunman was “worse than a common criminal”. He said the shooting was “a heinous terror attack on the state and the people of Kenya.”
Kenyan police spokesman Chris Cheli said the gunmen opened fire after they “spotted the journalist he was interviewing”, which “is extremely worrying as it shows that there is more to this incident than meets the eye.”
“It is indeed an act of terror on the life of a respected man and journalist,” Cheli said. “We hope that we were able to contain the situation. Our priority is to prevent further bloodshed.”
Sharif had worked for a few publications in Pakistan when he moved to Kenya in 2012.
He had previously worked in Britain, Pakistan and India.
Sharif was well-known for reporting on political, social and economic developments in his homeland, Pakistan, and was the author of the book No Surrender: Pakistan’s Struggle for Democracy.
Born in London in 1963, Sharif had moved to Pakistan in 1989, and moved to Kenya in 2012, when Pakistan was embroiled in tensions over its nuclear program. Sharif spoke regularly on his blog and social media accounts, as well as in print and radio broadcasts.
In June 2012, after the shooting of Punjab province governor Salman Taseer by his bodyguards, Sharif became the third Western journalist to be killed in Pakistan in the past three years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
