Rabia Ahsan killing: anchor shot at Rawalpindi home, husband on remand
TV anchor Rabia Ahsan was shot dead at her Rawalpindi home. Her husband, who says the gun went off by accident, is on two-day remand in a murder case.
Television anchor Rabia Ahsan has been shot dead at her home in Rawalpindi, and her husband is in police custody. Police say she was found in a bedroom of the house in Gulshanabad, off Adiala Road, with a bullet wound to the neck, The Express Tribune reported. Her husband, Ahsan, was arrested at the scene and the pistol was seized.
On Monday, 9 November, a Rawalpindi court granted police a two-day physical remand of the husband for questioning.
What police say
The husband told investigators the gun went off by accident and the bullet hit his wife, according to the police account reported by the Tribune. Police said the pistol found at the scene was unlicensed.
A murder case has been registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of her brother, Khurram. Registering a 302 case does not mean police have decided it was murder; it means the death will be investigated as a possible killing, and the husband’s account will be tested against the forensic evidence.
The domestic worker’s statement
A domestic employee at the house has given a statement that reportedly also describes the shot as accidental, saying the gun went off while the husband was waving it around, Daily Qudrat reported. That statement is part of the investigation; it has not been tested in court.
Some international headlines have described a confession. We could not confirm that from the police statements available, so we are not reporting it.
What happens next
Police will use the remand to question the husband, examine the weapon and wait for the post-mortem and forensic reports, which usually show the distance and angle of a shot. After the remand, he will be brought back before the court, which can extend it or send him to judicial custody.
A familiar pattern
Pakistan has seen many deaths of women at home explained as accidental firing. Whatever this investigation finds, the case has again raised the question of unlicensed weapons in homes.
If you or someone you know faces violence at home, the Punjab Women Protection helpline is 1043, and police emergency is 15.
