Last Updated on: 30th June 2023, 06:07 am
Arshad Sharif’s Wife Javeria Siddique Refused To Apply For Asylum Despite Death Threats
Arshad Sharif’s wife said Monday her husband had been receiving death threats for months but had refused to seek asylum abroad.
“My last conversation with Arshad was at 10 pm on Sunday. After that, he didn’t reply to the message,” said Javeria Siddiq, Arshad Sharif’s wife, in an interview with Independent Urdu.
“I thought you were busy at work. After a while, his number was also deactivated,” Javeria said amid a stream of mourners who visited his home. “But at 2 a.m. received a call from his friend in Nairobi telling him he had an accident. Then they told me that he had been shot.”
The distraught widow added that Arshad had to leave the country after receiving death threats for the past six months.
“When Arshad was asked to apply for asylum, he replied that Pakistan is his country, there is his life and my death. He said he would come to Pakistan for a few days,” She says.
“Now he’s coming back, but in a coffin,” added the woman.
Javeria also said that the Taliban threatened to kill him six months ago. So Arshad went to Dubai.
“What is our enmity with the Taliban?” she asked, “Arshad was in danger in Dubai, his killers followed him there too. It was not an accident but a targeted assassination and Arshad knew his life was in danger.”
According to Javeria, Arshad’s Dubai visa had expired and he was unable to return to Pakistan due to threats. He then decided to travel to an African country where his friend lived and took him in; On the night of the drama, he was on his way to his friend’s farm.
“Until yesterday we didn’t know he was in Kenya,” he said.
Also Read: Arshad Sharif’s Brother, Elder Ashraf, Was Martyred By Terrorists
“All we knew was that it was in an African country. For security reasons, he did not name the country.”
