Punjab forms body to review probe in Hina Javed murder case

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Members of civil society mourn Hina Javed at a vigil outside National Press Club in Islamabad. — Photo by Tanveer Shahzad/File
Members of civil society mourn Hina Javed at a vigil outside National Press Club in Islamabad. — Photo by Tanveer Shahzad/File

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has formed a three-member high-powered committee to review the investigation in the murder case of Hina Javed in which her husband and a domestic servant have been placed on judicial remand in Adiala jail.

On the other hand, the Rawalpindi police have received forensic and the final postmortem reports which showed marks of torture and other crucial evidence.

According to sources, the Punjab Forensic Science Agency’s (PSFA) findings showed startling evidence of the domestic servant’s role in the gruesome murder of the woman.

After the PSFA’s findings, however, police authorities are waiting for the three-member team to arrive in Rawalpindi when the case file will be presented to them.

Police receive forensic and final postmortem reports which show torture, other crucial evidence

The committee constituted by the provincial government consists of Additional IG Crime Control Department (CCD) Sohail Chattha, DIG Lahore Shoaib Khurram Janbaz and SSP Investigation Rawalpindi Saifullah.

According to sources, the committee has been formed on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, which will be headed by Mr Chattha.

Sources said the committee will arrive in the city this week and will visit the crime scene and also review the investigation conducted by the local police so far.

Initial postmortem examination and police report had suggested that Ms Javed’s body was found lying in a washroom of her apartment on August 21, with signs of torture as there was “strangulation mark around her neck; injury below her right lip with her nose bleeding”.

The police found her body partially hanging from a washroom shower, with her hands tied behind her back and a wire noose around her neck.

Ms Javed, 45, had married Faisal Imam nine months ago and was his second wife.

According to sources, the committee has also contacted the family of the deceased, while the murder case was registered with Civil Lines police station.

The deceased’s husband, Mr Faisal, and domestic worker Zeeshan Arshad were nominated in the murder case and were sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

The police had registered a murder case against the woman’s husband, who holds a doctorate degree (PhD).

Her father-in-law, 78, and the domestic servant were also nominated in the case on the complaint of the victim’s brother Fahad Javed, a resident of Westridge Bazaar, Peshawar Road.

It may be recalled that CPO Rawalpindi Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera had formed a special investigation team to investigate the high-profile case, but Ms Javed’s family had written letters to the Parliamentary Caucus Committee and the National Commission for Human Rights, expressing reservations about the Rawalpindi police investigation.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2026

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