Naqvi promises fresh probe into Hina Javed murder case

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday assured the family of slain digital media executive Hina Javed that a fresh committee would investigate the murder case, acknowledging their reservations about the ongoing probe as a parliamentary panel heard sharply conflicting accounts from police officials and the victim’s relatives.

“The best officer in Punjab Police will investigate this matter,” Naqvi told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control, saying another committee could be constituted to address the family’s concerns about the investigation.

“Murders are taking place every day, but this is a separate case,” he said, acknowledging the family’s reservations about the investigation and promising further scrutiny.

The assurance came as the family reiterated its demand for a judicial commission, alleging that investigators had overlooked evidence concerning Hina’s husband, Faisal Asghar Imam, while focusing on domestic worker Zeeshan Arshad.

Hina, 45, was found murdered at her residence in Rawalpindi’s Lal Kurti area in August. Her husband and the domestic worker were arrested in connection with the case. The family has also raised questions about the role of her father-in-law, Asghar Ali Fayyaz.

The case has attracted public attention amid allegations by the family that the police investigation has failed to examine all the evidence impartially. The Punjab government had earlier formed a high-powered committee, headed by Additional Inspector General of the Crime Control Department Sohail Zafar Chattha, to review the investigation. The family has rejected the committee’s findings and called for an independent judicial inquiry.

Agha Rafiullah challenges police account

During Thursday’s meeting, Rawalpindi Regional Police Officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa and SSP Investigation Saifullah briefed committee members on the investigation.

Alpa said a committee had been working on the case under the supervision of the SSP Investigation from the outset, recording videos of the crime scene and collecting evidence. He added that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had ordered a transparent investigation and that the Crime Control Department’s team was also examining the case.

حنا قتل میں شوہر نہیں ملازم قصوار ہے۔۔۔

*ایڈیشنل آئی جی @CCD_Punjab سی سی ڈی سہیل ظفر چھٹہ @SZChatthaPSP کی قومی اسمبلی کی قائمہ کمیٹی برائے داخلہ میں(حنا) قتل کیس میں آن لائن بریفنگ* pic.twitter.com/rMkyugGfw0

— M.UsmanButt (@UsmanbuttJr) October 29, 2026

Saifullah subsequently briefed the committee on the domestic worker’s alleged role, saying Zeeshan had lived in the upper portion of the house about two months earlier and had transferred photographs of Hina to his mobile phone.

The account prompted a sharp response from committee member Agha Rafiullah, who questioned the officer’s handling of the case and objected to the suggestion that linked the victim to the domestic worker.

“Have some shame. Is this the investigation you have conducted? You have linked the victim to the domestic worker,” Rafiullah said, criticising what he described as an irresponsible statement by an officer of SSP rank.

He rejected the account presented by the police and called for an immediate judicial commission. He also demanded that the investigation be handed over to Sohail Zafar Chattha.

Hina’s brother, Fahd Javed, who is the complainant in the case, has previously made the same demand, saying the family does not accept the findings of the existing investigation committee and wants all aspects of the murder examined independently.

CCD chief details evidence against domestic worker

Briefing the committee online, Additional IG CCD Sohail Zafar Chattha said a special investigation committee had been constituted on the chief minister’s instructions.

He said the committee had met Hina’s family, recorded its concerns, inspected the crime scene and examined the room of her father-in-law. The team had also questioned Zeeshan and Faisal at Adiala Jail in the presence of jail officials.

Chattha said the investigation would not spare anyone found responsible for the crime.

According to his account, Hina had kept her portion of the house locked, with a window providing the only way inside. He alleged that Zeeshan had opened a latch the night before the killing, entered her room, murdered her and subsequently sexually assaulted her body.

Chattha said investigators had recovered a bedsheet, a rope and a drawstring allegedly used in the crime. He also claimed that forensic analysis had matched Zeeshan Arshad’s DNA with samples linked to the case.

He further cited marks on the suspect’s neck, fingerprints recovered from the room’s carpet and the recovery of a licensed pistol allegedly stolen from a neighbouring apartment five days before the incident.

Addressing the presence of Faisal’s DNA on Hina’s neck, Chattha said it had matched because the bedsheet used in the incident belonged to Faisal.

He also said Zeeshan had initially called Hina’s father-in-law after the incident. When the call was not answered, he contacted Faisal and allegedly staged a story about intruders entering the house and Hina being killed.

According to Chattha, Zeeshan later claimed that Faisal had offered to send him to the United States and paid him Rs100,000 to carry out the killing. Chattha said the suspects were questioned in the presence of police and jail officials.

These statements represent the investigating team’s account of the evidence. The allegations against the suspects have not been established by a court.

Family disputes investigation and forensic findings

Hina’s sister told the committee that the family remained dissatisfied with the Rawalpindi police investigation.

She alleged that police officers had initially told the family that substantial evidence had been found against Faisal and that he would not escape accountability, but later attempted to portray Hina’s death as a suicide.

She said the family had submitted 19 pieces of evidence in Lahore but had not received forensic reports, including the report concerning Faisal’s clothes. She also said investigators had not shown the family Hina’s messages.

The sister further alleged that Hina’s neck had been broken and that holes had been made in her elbows to prevent her from resisting.

The family has repeatedly questioned the handling of forensic evidence, including DNA findings, fingerprints and data from the victim’s and suspects’ mobile phones. It has also alleged that important messages were deleted from Hina’s phone and that investigators shifted their focus towards Zeeshan before all relevant forensic results were available.

In an open letter to the Punjab chief minister earlier this week, the family rejected the existing committee’s findings and called for an impartial judicial commission, arguing that investigators should not effectively determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence before the matter is decided by a court.

The family has acknowledged the alleged involvement of the domestic worker but maintains that evidence concerning Faisal and other individuals must also be thoroughly examined. Faisal and Zeeshan were arrested in connection with the case, while the family has questioned whether the investigation adequately examined the role of Hina’s father-in-law.

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari expresses support for family

Separately, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aseefa Bhutto Zardari said she had met Hina’s family in Parliament and assured them of her support in their pursuit of justice.

In a post on X, she said the circumstances surrounding Hina’s death remained under investigation and that the family continued to seek justice.

“The family is demanding a judicial commission to ensure a thorough and scrupulous investigation into the case,” she wrote, expressing hope that the demand would receive due consideration and that all aspects of the case would be investigated fairly and transparently.

I met with the family of the late Hina Javed in Parliament today. The circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation, and her family continues to seek justice. I have assured them of my full support in their pursuit of justice for Hina.

The family is demanding a… pic.twitter.com/CBbPjZI0wl

— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) October 29, 2026

Naqvi’s assurance of a fresh investigation came amid mounting pressure for an independent inquiry. The family’s central demand is that all forensic findings, witness accounts and circumstances surrounding Hina’s death be examined impartially, without any suspect being prematurely cleared or held responsible.