The brother of slain Hina Javed has questioned the police decision to clear her husband Faisal Asghar of involvement in her murder despite DNA findings linking him to four locations, and demanded an immediate judicial commission to investigate the case.
Fahad recently appeared on a TV program where he said that his family had lost confidence in the investigation and accused police of focusing on domestic worker Zeeshan Arshad while overlooking evidence involving Faisal. He urged Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to ensure a fair inquiry.
“Faisal’s DNA came back from four places, yet they are ignoring it and not taking it seriously,” Fahad said during the interview. He identified Hina’s neck, the main bedsheet, which also had bloodstains, and a door lock among the locations.
“How can you declare someone innocent when DNA has turned up from four places,” he asked.
The family’s objections follow a fresh investigation by a high-level committee formed on the directives of Maryam Nawaz. On October 15, investigators named Zeeshan the prime suspect, citing forensic findings, including skin particles attributed to him beneath Hina’s fingernails. Investigators also claimed that Zeeshan confessed to sexually assaulting and strangling Hina with a bedsheet.
The committee said its findings did not support allegations against Faisal. Fahad, however, questioned how police could clear her husband before the case reached trial.
“The case hasn’t even gone to court yet, the trial hasn’t started, and the challan hasn’t even been submitted. How can you already declare Faisal innocent?”
Fahad demanded that police include Faisal, his father and Zeeshan in the challan, alleging that investigators had given Faisal preferential treatment. He also called for the release of the complete DNA report.
Fahad said the family had identified an important witness whom investigators had yet to question adequately. According to him, Hina met the person who arranged her marriage one day before her murder because she was distressed about the relationship.
“She was tense and went to that person to share everything, saying, ‘I am tense, what should I do,’” Fahad revealed.
He claimed Hina had also warned the witness not to tell Faisal about their conversation because she feared her husband’s temper.
“Please do not tell Faisal about this; Faisal has a very bad temper, and if this leaks, he will kill me,” Fahad quoted his sister as saying.
He said the family had asked police to visit the witness’s home and establish what Hina had disclosed during the meeting. According to Fahad, investigators had not done so, citing the witness’s reluctance to give an interview.
“The police’s job is to get the real facts from them about what happened in that meeting,” he stressed.
The family has also raised concerns about the handling of forensic evidence and the investigation into the possible involvement of Hina’s father-in-law.
Fahad said that Hina’s death had devastated the family and left him struggling to sleep.
“My sister was my support system; she was everything to me. She used to run the house,” he said, adding that his mother was in the advanced stages of dementia and his father was also unwell.
He said his parents did not know that Hina had died because of their medical conditions.
“The way I buried her comes to mind, and I just cannot sleep,” Fahad said.
He renewed his appeal to the federal and Punjab governments for an independent inquiry, access to the complete forensic reports and a thorough investigation into all three men named by the family.
Zeeshan’s parents have also challenged the investigation, claiming that their son is innocent and that investigators are trying to make him the principal accused.
Speaking to the media, his father Muhammad Arshad emphasised that Zeeshan had worked at Hina’s house for around seven months and regarded her as a mother figure.
Arshad said that he had met his son twice in jail. According to his account of the conversations, an argument broke out between Hina and Faisal on the night of the incident, and Faisal chased his wife as she tried to get away.
Arshad alleged that Faisal ordered Zeeshan to catch Hina and intervene in the dispute. Zeeshan’s mother also claimed that her son had been framed and alleged that the police subjected him to torture during the investigation.
The family denied the police account that Zeeshan had a criminal record in other serious cases. Arshad demanded justice and said he would approach the High Court if the authorities failed to provide it.
Hina, 45, worked as a digital designer. She married Faisal in November 2025. Police found her dead in the bathroom of her residence in Rawalpindi’s Lal Kurti area on August 20, 2026. According to the case details, her hands were tied behind her back and a wire was wrapped around her neck.
Her brother lodged a murder complaint at the Civil Lines police station against Faisal, his father, Asghar Ali Fayyaz, and Zeeshan. The post-mortem examination found a fracture in Hina’s neck bone, injuries to her ribs and hip, and other signs of violence.
Police arrested both Faisal and Zeeshan. Both were subsequently placed on judicial remand at Adiala Jail. Police initially alleged that Faisal had offered Zeeshan Rs100,000 to help kill Hina, while Faisal and his father denied the allegations.
The Punjab government later formed a three-member committee led by Crime Control Department Additional Inspector General Sohail Zafar Chattha to review the investigation, forensic findings, post-mortem report and crime scene evidence.
The committee’s findings pointed towards Zeeshan, citing DNA evidence and an alleged confession. Investigators said Faisal’s DNA and fingerprints at locations inside the residence did not, by themselves, establish his involvement in the murder. They maintained that the evidence did not justify naming him the prime suspect.
The family disputes the conclusion and says investigators must explain the DNA findings rather than dismiss their concerns.
