Pakistani TV anchor Rabia Ahsan shot dead at home; police probe husband's claim of accidental firing

A Pakistani television anchorperson, Rabia Ahsan, was shot dead at her home in Rawalpindi on Sunday, with police taking her husband into custody and seizing the suspected weapon, Pakistani media outlet Samaa reported.The incident took place in the Gulshanabad area of the city, where Ahsan worked as an anchor and programme host for a local private TV channel.City Police Officer (CPO) Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera confirmed that Ahsan's husband had been detained and that the suspected weapon had been seized. He said an investigation had been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.According to the CPO, a male domestic worker at the house told police that Ahsan's husband had claimed the gunshot was fired accidentally.Sukhera visited the crime scene along with the senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations, the SSP investigations and a team of forensic experts. Teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) were collecting evidence from the house.The body was being taken to a hospital for a postmortem examination. Sukhera said a case was being registered and the investigation would be conducted on merit.First Lady condemns killing, calls for transparent probePakistan's First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari expressed deep sadness over Ahsan's 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, according to a statement issued by the Presidency.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.The First Lady noted that the outcome of the investigation into Javed's murder was still awaited.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.