Five members of a family, including three children, have been found dead inside their apartment in Karachi’s Ahsanabad area, with police stating that the exact cause will be established through postmortem and chemical analysis.
The victims were identified as 45-year-old doctor Umer, his 35-year-old wife Mehwish and their three daughters.
Police identified one of the girls as 13-year-old Zainab and placed the ages of the other two between two and four.
The bodies were recovered from a room on the seventh floor of the building on Sunday after the complex’s union alerted police to a foul smell coming from the apartment.
Officers found the door locked from inside before breaking it open and discovering the bodies.
The five bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition and appeared to have been there for around three days, according to East SSP Zubair Nazir Sheikh.
They were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for postmortem examinations.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed found no apparent injury marks on the bodies. The cause of death has been reserved pending chemical analysis, while doctors also collected samples for DNA testing.
Sheikh cautioned that it was too early to determine how the family died. A crime scene unit collected evidence from the apartment, while investigators were also obtaining CCTV footage and preparing to record statements from hospital management and neighbours.
Dr Umer had been unemployed for a considerable period after his clinic closed but had recently secured work at East City Hospital, according to a neighbour.
He had resigned from a private hospital on September 13 after being diagnosed with cancer.
The doctor had also recently been robbed, with assailants taking his salary and other belongings.
Police also found that Dr Umer’s wife had tried to sell the family’s oven the previous week. A neighbour declined to buy it but gave the family Rs2,000 in financial assistance.
Neighbours told investigators about his medical condition and financial difficulties, although the information was still being verified.
The family had lived in the apartment since 2024. Dr Umer originally hailed from Punjab, and investigators have contacted his brother in Lahore. His father-in-law, also based in Punjab, has been asked to claim the bodies.
Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar sought details from the SSP and ordered an immediate briefing on the police response.
Sindh Inspector General of Police also sought a detailed report and directed officers to conduct the investigation transparently, impartially and on the basis of evidence.
