Only a few months after Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was assassinated in Kenya, a vicious campaign was launched against his wife, Javeria Siddique.
As some social media users targeted Javeria, a journalist by profession, Pakistani Twitter users came out in support of the slain journalist’s wife, and the hashtag #StayStrongJaveriaBhabhi quickly became the top trend on the microblogging network.
Javeria herself shared an emotional tweet in response to the vicious campaign against her, saying her husband was killed with a bullet and she will be killed through character assassination.
Reacting to the vicious campaign against Javeria, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called it “sad and condemnable” and “against the principles of Islam and humanity”.
The HRCP tweeted on its official handle, “The negative campaign on Twitter about Miss @javerias is sad and condemnable. Such actions are against the principles of Islam and humanity. Miss Javeria & her family are already experiencing pain and suffering. We need to appease them. We pray for patience for them. JazakAllah!”
PTI leader Imran Ismail too condemned the propaganda against Arshad Sharif’s family and blamed the PML-N social media cell for this dirty campaign. He said he would take legal action against those behind this malicious campaign.
Arshad Sharif (22 February 1973 – 23 October 2022) was a Pakistani journalist, writer, and television news anchor. A strong critic of Pakistan’s powerful establishment and corrupt rulers, Sharif specialized in investigative journalism and covered many political events in the country for national and international news organizations, including the United Kingdom.
On 23 March 2019, he was awarded the Pride of Performance by the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi for his contribution to journalism. He was chased out of Pakistan and then shot and killed in Kenya on 23 October 2022.
