Pakistani actress and model Humaira Asghar Ali, 32, was found dead in her Karachi flat on Tuesday.
Police said her body was found after officers arrived at her home in the Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood to enforce a court-ordered eviction.
According to a Dawn report, officers from the Gizri police station broke down Ali’s door after a court-appointed bailiff received no response and found her body lying inside.
Ali, who lived alone, had reportedly not paid her rent since 2024, prompting the landlord to seek legal action.
South Karachi police chief Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the flat’s doors, including the balcony entrance, were locked from the inside and showed no signs of forced entry, leading investigators to rule out foul play.
According to Geo News, neighbours had not seen the actress in several weeks and noticed a foul smell coming from her flat.
Police suspect that she died some two weeks before her body was found and are working to trace her relatives through mobile phone records.
“It appeared that the body was several days old,” Mr Raza said.
The body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where a postmortem examination was done on Tuesday night.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said the body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and the exact cause of death could not yet be determined. She said forensic and toxicology tests would be required before conclusions could be drawn.
“The cause of death is reserved,” she said.
Ali was born in Lahore and trained in Visual and Performing Arts at the National College of Arts as well as the College of Art and Design at Punjab University. She was best known for her appearance in the ARY Digital reality show Tamasha Ghar and her role in the 2015 film Jalaibee. In 2023, she received a National Woman Leadership Award for her contribution to media and entertainment.
Tamasha Ghar host Adnan Siddiqui posted a tribute to Ali on Instagram. “Deeply shocked and saddened,” he said. “A young life cut so short suddenly. May you be in peace Humaira and your family get the strength to deal with the vacuum you have left behind.”
Ali’s Ehsaan Faramosh co-star Atiqa Odho posted a picture with her from their time working on the show. “Woke up to this shocking and tragic news. Unbelievable as she had so much life to look forward to,” he said on Instagram.
“We worked in Ehsaan Faramosh serial together and she was such a gentle soul. Never thought that she would leave us so soon. I hope authorities get to the truth and we find out what happened to Humaira Asghar so that we may be able to help others in the future before we lose them in this unfortunate manner. Tragic, tragic, tragic. Humaira, may you rest in peace my dear, wherever you are. Ameen.”
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