September 11, 2026
HASHIR AHSAN
ISLAMBAD
The hearing for the post-arrest bail application of accused Zeeshan Arshad, in the brutal murder case of Hina Javed, was conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Naseer Ahmed. During the proceedings, the Civil Lines Police failed to present the case record before the court.
A technical complication regarding the representation of accused Zeeshan Arshad arose during the hearing.
Yesterday, Advocate Hamza Abbasi had submitted a power of attorney (wakalatnama) on behalf of accused Zeeshan and appeared in court, while Advocate Muhammad Junaid Hassan also filed a new power of attorney for the same accused. Upon receiving two different powers of attorney for a single accused from two different lawyers, the court directed that a letter be written to the Superintendent of Adiala Jail to verify directly from the accused, Zeeshan Arshad, who his actual lawyer is.
There are three nominated accused in the case, including the victim’s husband, father-in-law, and domestic servant Zeeshan Arshad. Currently, the victim’s husband and the servant Zeeshan are detained in jail on judicial remand, while according to sources, the victim’s father-in-law, who provided false information of theft to the police, has not yet been arrested. After the proceedings, the court adjourned further hearing of the case until September 14.
Zeeshan’s bail application
In the post-arrest bail application, the accused pleaded that he has been implicated in this false and fabricated case based on police collusion and malafide intent. The applicant/accused has no connection to this crime. The applicant is not mentally fit to commit such a heinous crime.
The accused maintained that no recovery was made, and if any recovery is shown, it is fake and fabricated. The facts and circumstances of the matter make it a case of “further inquiry,” falling within the ambit of Section 497(2) Cr.P.C.
The accused said he belongs to a highly respectable family and has never been convicted in the past. In the event of release on bail, there is no likelihood of the accused absconding or tampering with prosecution evidence. The accused is ready to furnish reliable/solvent surety to the complete satisfaction of the honorable court.
The application requested the court to release the accused/applicant on post-arrest bail until the final decision of the case, keeping in mind the dictates of justice. Additionally, all other possible legal remedies were also prayed for.
Letter to National Commission for Human Rights
The victim’s family expressed strong reservations about the police investigation in the Hina Javed murder case. Fahad Javed, brother of Hina Javed, wrote a letter to the Chairperson of the National Commission for Human Rights. The affected family also sent letters to the Ministry of Law and the Parliamentary Caucus Committee.
The letter expressed apprehension that the investigation is not being conducted in accordance with the FIR. It further stated that the family fears an attempt is being made to suppress the truth in Hina’s murder case, and the entire focus of the investigation is being diverted toward the domestic servant instead of the primary accused. Crucial evidence in the case was not properly preserved, and all messages sent to her sister were deleted from the deceased Hina Javed’s mobile phone.
According to the letter, the blood-stained bedsheet retrieved from the scene of the crime was handed over to the father-in-law instead of being kept by the police. The mobile phone and laptop of the primary accused, Faisal Asghar, were not taken into custody for forensic analysis. Furthermore, no forensic examination was conducted on the web activity of the mobile phones of the primary accused and the domestic servant. Expressing deep concern over the failure to establish the motive behind the murder to date, the family noted that statements of key witnesses—domestic workers, driver, the accused’s brother Kamil, and neighbors—have not been recorded.
In the letter, expressing severe anxiety over delays in receiving DNA and other forensic reports, the family stated that unnecessary leniency is being granted to the victim’s father-in-law, who is named in the case. No recovery has been made from the primary accused Faisal so far, and questions remain regarding the lack of a proper search of primary accused Faisal Asghar’s room. They demanded that DNA and forensic reports be obtained promptly from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, immediate forensic analysis of all electronic devices of the primary accused and domestic servant be conducted, and as Hina Javed was brutally murdered and the family awaits justice, the investigation of the Hina Javed murder case be handed over to an independent investigation team.