Pakistani TV anchorperson shot dead at home in Rawalpindi; husband held

A Pakistani anchorperson was shot dead at her home in Rawalpindi, with police taking her husband into custody and seizing the suspected weapon. Rabia Ahsan, who worked as an anchor and programme host with a local private TV channel, was found dead at her home in the Gulshanabad area of the city on Sunday (November 8, 2026), the Dawn newspaper reported.

City Police Officer (CPO) Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera said Ahsan's husband had been taken into custody and the suspected weapon seized. An investigation has been launched, he added. Mr. Sukhera, along with the senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations and the SSP investigations, visited the crime scene with a team of forensic experts.

According to the CPO, a male domestic worker at the house told police that the victim's husband had claimed that the gunshot was fired accidentally. Mr. Sukhera said teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) were collecting evidence from the scene, while the body was being taken to a hospital for postmortem examination.

A case was being registered and an investigation would be conducted on merit, he said. Meanwhile, First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari expressed deep sadness over the killing and strongly condemned the violence. She called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation to establish the facts and ensure that those responsible were held accountable, a statement issued by the Presidency said.

Ms. Bhutto-Zardari also expressed concern over what she described as a “disturbing pattern of killing of another professional woman in the same metropolitan area”. She recalled 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, and noted that the outcome of the investigation into the case was still awaited.