Pakistani anchor found shot dead at home; husband held

Pakistani news anchor Rabia Ahsan was found shot dead at her residence in Gulshanabad, Rawalpindi, on Sunday, with police taking her husband into custody and seizing the suspected weapon.

According to Dawn, English-language e-paper in Pakistan, City Police Officer (CPO) Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera said an investigation had been launched into the incident. Senior police officials, including the SSP Operations and SSP Investigations, visited the crime scene along with forensic experts.

According to a police statement, a male domestic worker at the house informed the police that Ahsan's husband had claimed the gunshot was fired accidentally.

Teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) were collecting evidence from the scene, while the body was taken to a hospital for a postmortem examination. Sukhera said a case was being registered and assured that the investigation would be conducted impartially.

The killing has drawn attention to another recent murder of a professional woman in the same metropolitan area.

Pakistan's First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari expressed deep sadness over Ahsan's death and strongly condemned the violence. She called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation to establish the facts and ensure accountability.

In a statement issued by the Presidency, Aseefa also expressed concern over what she described as a disturbing pattern of killings of professional women in Rawalpindi.

She recalled the case of Hina Javed, a 45-year-old digital media executive who was found dead at her Rawalpindi residence in August, with signs of torture on her body.

Aseefa stressed that such incidents demanded serious attention and accountability, adding that women must be able to live and work without fear for their lives. She also pointed out that the outcome of the investigation into Javed's murder was still awaited.

According to a DNA analysis report, samples collected from Javed's domestic servant matched postmortem swabs taken from her body. Her husband's DNA was also found to match samples collected from multiple items at the crime scene.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had subsequently said that DNA and polygraph test results suggested that the domestic servant had committed the murder and rape, while emphasising that the investigation was still underway.

On October 29, Aseefa met Javed's family at Parliament and called for their demand for a judicial commission to be given due consideration.

(With inputs from DAWN)