Arshad Sharif laid to rest in Islamabad

Thousands of Pakistanis from all walks of life, media persons and politicians participated

Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif has been laid to rest in Islamabad on Thursday. His funeral prayers were offered on the premises of Shah Faisal Mosque Islamabad at 2pm.

Thousands of Pakistanis participated in the funeral. Media persons, politicians and people from all walks of life participated in the last proceedings of the renowned journalist.

After the funeral, Arshad’s dead body was taken to the H-11 graveyard for burial where his martyr brother and father were also buried.

Yesterday, Arshad’s mother had urged everyone to visit her residence before going to the mosque for funeral prayers. She had said that she wants to say goodbye to her son in a manner befitting of his sacrifice.

Strict security arrangements were made for the funeral.

According to a security order issued by Islamabad police, security was tightened ahead of the funeral, with the deployment of 3,792 security personnel including six inspectors and 1,010 police constables.

The security arrangements were overseen by three superintendents of police (SPs) and five assistant superintendents of police (ASPs)/deputy superintendents of police (DSPs).

204 Sindh police personnel and 2,500 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were also deputed to assist Islamabad police.

Arshad Sharif was murdered in Kenya after the police had opened fire on the car Arshad was travelling in. He had received a bullet in his head that had become a cause of his immediate death.

The government of Pakistan has also formed a two-member team, to investigate the death, comprising Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) representatives.

Earlier Arshad’s postmortem was again conducted in PIMS Hospital Islamabad after the request of his family. According to the report two bullets had hit Arshad, one in the head and the other on the shoulder. The report also said that Arshad was hit by bullets from a distance.

Announcing the tragic news in the early morning of October 24, Arshad Sharif’s widow said in a tweet, “Today I have lost my friend, husband and favourite journalist; police have told that Arshad Sharif has been shot dead in Kenya.”