When Truth Dies Before the Body Is Buried
The tragic and mysterious death of Pakistani actress Humaira Asghar has exposed not just society’s deep apathy, but also the alarming cracks in Pakistan’s forensic and legal systems. Even before her body is laid to rest, it seems the truth was buried long ago.
A Forgotten Death, An Abandoned Investigation
Humaira Asghar’s body was found in a rented flat—decomposed, abandoned, and months old. Experts estimate she died between six to nine months ago. But the real question is how she died—and under what circumstances.
Yet what’s more disturbing is the silence. Her close family hasn’t called for a proper investigation. They reportedly refused to even claim her body. The landlord, who should have been concerned over unpaid rent, also never followed up. Why was the flat not checked for so long?
It’s not just negligence. It reeks of collective failure—of society, systems, and institutions. How can a woman vanish in a crowded city and no one notices?
Pakistan’s Forensic System: Built to Fail
As a journalist with a background in crime and investigative reporting, I’ve had the rare opportunity to observe real forensic procedures. Under the mentorship of late Professor Naseeb R. Awan at King Edward Medical College, I learned how vital it is to have scientific tools, institutional independence, and legal protocols to uncover the truth behind any death.
Sadly, most of those essentials don’t exist in Pakistan. In Humaira’s case, a standard post-mortem won’t be enough. The body is too decomposed. Only a state-of-the-art institution like Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi has the capacity to perform detailed analysis on a body that old. Their labs offer advanced services—histopathology, toxicology, microbiology, DNA testing, and more.
AKUH could help determine if her death was natural, a suicide, accidental, infectious—or murder. But only if the evidence hasn’t completely deteriorated. And that’s a big if.
Gaps in the System: From Evidence to Expertise
Pakistan’s forensic system suffers from two massive failures.
First, the absence of a proper chain of custody. From the death scene to the lab, every step must be documented and secure. But in reality, bodies are often transported without refrigeration, without records, and without following procedure. This mishandling destroys evidence, and whatever remains becomes legally inadmissible.
Second, Pakistan completely lacks expertise in forensic anthropology—a field crucial in cases involving skeletal or decayed remains. Anthropologists can determine gender, age, ethnicity, cause, and even the time of death by analyzing bones. Yet Pakistan has no trained experts and no institutions that offer this specialization.
Without these tools, a case like Humaira’s is doomed to be labeled “unsolved” or “natural death” by default.
When Silence Speaks Louder than Proof
But beyond science, there’s a bigger threat: institutional interference and lack of integrity. Even if a capable institution like AKUH takes on the case, political or social pressure can distort the results—or bury them altogether.
We’ve seen this before. Remember how the crime scene of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was washed away? Now ask yourself: has anyone preserved the fingerprints from Humaira’s flat? Has the CCTV footage from nearby buildings been secured? Has anyone reviewed her bank records, social life, or digital footprint?
Was any of this even attempted before the flat gets repainted, rented, or forgotten?
And here’s the most uncomfortable question of all: Does the police even want to find the truth? In a system where torture replaces investigation, where outdated methods dominate, who will go the extra mile to crack a case that’s already gone cold?
Unless forensic evidence surfaces, we can’t even confirm whether Humaira died in that flat—or was dumped there later. And if this had happened in the UK, a coroner would’ve flagged several red flags. Her body was face down. One shoe was on, the other was off—a sign of struggle or being pushed. Her body was twisted unnaturally, possibly indicating resistance or being moved post-mortem.
PTI Expels 5 MNAs Over 26th Amendment Vote, Seeks Disqualification
Had it been a suicide, the positioning would be different. The loneliness of the flat, the months of silence, and her family’s apathy all deepen the suspicion.
Who Still Cares About Truth?
Latest reports say her brother has now reached Karachi to claim the body. Logically, he should demand a full post-mortem. If he doesn’t—and simply says “it was fate”—then he, too, becomes part of the silence that kills justice.
So, the big question remains: Will Humaira Asghar ever get justice?
Truthfully, that depends less on science and more on will—the will to uncover, demand, and defend the truth. Do her family, friends, or fans want real answers? Do media outlets have the courage to push for an investigation? Will institutions resist pressure and do what’s right?
In Pakistan, truth can be discovered—but it can also be hidden. Until institutions, media, and public pressure come together, truth will keep dying—and with it, justice.
Because the saddest part of Humaira Asghar’s story is not just that her body went unnoticed. It’s that her death might become just another unsolved headline in a system where the dead remain silent—and the living choose to ignore them.
Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook,, X and TikTok for latest updates