Pakistani television presenter Rabia Ahsan was found shot dead at her Rawalpindi home, with police detaining her husband as they investigate the circumstances of her death.
A Pakistani television anchor was shot dead at her home in Rawalpindi on Sunday, police said. Her husband has been detained in connection with the case, and the suspected weapon has been seized.
The victim, identified as Rabia Ahsan, worked as an anchor and programme host for a local private TV channel. She was found dead at her residence in the Gulshanabad area, Dawn reported.
City Police Officer Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera confirmed the husband’s detention and said an investigation was underway. Police officials and forensic experts visited the house to examine the scene.
According to Sukhera, a male domestic worker told investigators that Ahsan’s husband had claimed the gunshot was accidental.
Teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency are collecting evidence from the house. Ahsan’s body has been sent to a hospital for a postmortem examination. Police are also registering a case and said the matter would be investigated on merit.
Pakistan’s First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari expressed grief over Ahsan’s death and condemned the killing. She called for an impartial and transparent investigation to establish the facts and hold those responsible accountable.
In a statement issued by the Presidency, she also raised concern over what she described as a “disturbing pattern of killing of another professional woman in the same metropolitan area".
She referred to the murder of Hina Javed, a 45-year-old digital media executive who was found dead at her Rawalpindi residence in August with signs of torture. Bhutto-Zardari said the outcome of the investigation into Javed’s death was still awaited.
