Afridi, a reporter for Pakistan Television and the local Mashriq newspaper, was killed when his car blew up in the city of Peshawar, according to local and international news reports. An explosive device was detonated remotely shortly after he returned to the vehicle, which was parked in a densely populated shopping area, news reports said.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said Afridi, who was also the president of the Tribal Union of Journalists, had moved to Peshawar to flee militant groups.
In May 2006, CPJ reported, unidentified assailants had lobbed two hand grenades at Afridi's house in Bara, the main town of Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Afridi had been the target of a death threat issued on a pirate radio station run by the Islamic militant organization Lashkar-e-Islam. The threat came after Afridi reported that the authorities suspected Lashkar-e-Islam of being responsible for an attack in which a paramilitary soldier was injured.
The journalist moved to Islamabad after the attack but said officials there would not heed his complaints of being under threat. He then moved to the wealthy Hayatabad area of Peshawar. But in mid-2007, grenades were lobbed at his home there. No one was injured in that attack.
Afridi was a popular, senior figure in the tightly knit journalist community in the dangerous areas along the Afghan border. Hundreds of people, including colleagues, political leaders, and tribal elders, attended his memorial service. No arrests were made in the case.