A Rawalpindi court has extended the physical remand of Ahsan Tahir, the husband of television anchor Rabia Ahsan, by four days as police investigate her fatal shooting at the couple's home. Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Nasrullah Wattoo granted the extension on Tuesday, 10 November, and directed police to produce the suspect again on 13 November with a complete investigation report and the post-mortem findings.

Rabia Ahsan, 41, an anchor with the Urdu-language channel 92 News, was found shot dead in the bedroom of her home in the Gulshanabad area of Rawalpindi on Sunday afternoon, 8 November. Police said her mother and sister were outside the house when they heard a gunshot at about 3pm, and her sister found her lying on the floor. Her husband was taken into custody after the shooting and a pistol was recovered from the property.

What the case says so far

Police registered a murder case at the Saddar Bairooni police station on the complaint of Rabia's brother, Khurram Ahmed, who accused her husband of shooting her. The case was registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which covers murder, along with Section 13(2)(a) of the Punjab Arms Amendment Ordinance. The First Information Report states that the shooting took place at about 3pm on Sunday, and that Ahsan Tahir told police he had fired at his wife with the same weapon.

The circumstances remain disputed. A domestic worker at the house told police that Tahir had described the shooting as an accidental discharge, according to Dawn. His brother-in-law has rejected that account. Investigators also reported that Tahir, a deputy director at the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation, was unable to produce a valid licence for the firearm. He has been arrested in a murder case, but no court has yet determined whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

Court proceedings and tributes

Tahir first appeared before Area Magistrate Talat Waheed in Rawalpindi on Monday, 9 November, when the court granted police a one-day physical remand. On Tuesday, the investigating officer asked for ten days of further remand, and the court allowed four more days. City Police Officer Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera confirmed that Rabia had been found with a gunshot wound below her neck, and that forensic teams collected evidence from the scene.

Rabia Ahsan was a familiar face on Pakistani television and had co-hosted a current affairs programme alongside journalists Amir Mateen and Rauf Klasra. She is survived by two daughters, reportedly aged 13 and 11. First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was among those who expressed sadness over her death, condemning the violence and calling for a thorough and impartial investigation. "Women must be able to live and work without fear for their lives," she said in a statement issued by the presidency.