KARACHI: A woman and her minor daughter were found dead at their home in Malir, police said on Saturday.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson said the bodies of Saba Hanif, 30, and her eight-year-old daughter, Nabiha Hanif, were found inside their house near the Malir river within the remit of the Malir City police station.

The bodies were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for medico-legal formalities.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said there was a ligature mark around Saba’s neck. However, there were no signs of violence and no ligature mark on the neck of the minor girl.

“All samples have been collected and the cause of death has been reserved till the receipt of reports,” the police surgeon said.

During the initial probe, relatives expressed their suspicions that Saba’s husband, Muhammad Hanif, was responsible for the double murder.

Area SHO Riaz Ahmed Bhutto told Dawn that Mohammed Hanif was detained but later released after questioning.

He said Hanif told investigators that he worked as a labourer and that his wife had been obtaining taveez from someone in South Punjab because she was “emotionally” disturbed. He said she had recently returned from there and had asked him to change their residence, which he did.

Hanif further told police that on the day of the incident, he had left for work and during his absence his father-in-law visited the house, which was locked from the inside. After breaking open the door, he found the bodies.

SHO Bhutto said the deceased woman’s father later visited the police station and stated that his son-in-law was “innocent”, following which police released Hanif from custody.

The officer said investigators were also examining the possibility that the woman had strangled her daughter before taking her own life by hanging herself.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026