Widow of Pakistani journalist killed in Kenya losing hope for justice
Two years since journalist Arshad Sharif was killed in Kenya, his family in Pakistan is still fighting for justice.
Sharif, a talk show host who used to work for ARY News in Pakistan, was killed when police at a roadblock shot at his car in what Kenya says was a case of mistaken identity
But his widow Javeria Siddique suspects foul play.
“When you lose a loved one’s life to an unnatural death and his bullet-ridden body is in front of your eyes, you’re not able to fathom why this hill has broken loose on you,” she said.
After a change in government in Pakistan in April 2022, Sharif became a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
He fled the country in August 2022 after receiving threats and facing sedition charges.
Siddique believes that Sharif’s journalism made him a target. The UN in September called for Kenya and Pakistan to step up efforts to investigate the murder, citing a Pakistani government report that it was targeted assassination by transnational actors.
“Nobody could silence him when he started to speak. He always had documents and money trails to prove a point, so he became a problem for the country’s ruling class,” Sharif’s widow said.
A Kenyan court ordered the state to pay damages for what it deemed illegal and unconstitutional use of deadly force against Sharif. Delays have plagued hearings in Pakistan into the case. Siddique in October filed a petition to the Islamabad High Court requesting that a judicial commission investigate the killing.
“When the case is not even moving forward. No court hearing is taking place. How and whom do I seek justice from?” she said.
Pakistan ranks as the 12th worst country for securing justice and the killings of journalists. The country has seen a rise in deadly violence against media this year, with at least six deaths.
According to Jodie Ginsberg from the Committee to Protect Journalists, “there is a clear link in most cases between a rise in attacks on journalists and a worsening human rights or rule of law situation in a country. And that’s, I think, true of Pakistan”.
A lack of justice in these cases is a major threat to press freedom, the watchdog says. And more than a decade since the creation of the UN’s International Day to end impunity. Nearly 80% of journalist killings worldwide remain unsolved.
Sarah Zaman narrates this story by Tabinda Naeem.
Video: Iram Abbasi
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