Hina Javed was a 45-year-old Pakistani digital media executive and designer whose brutal murder in Rawalpindi has triggered widespread outrage and renewed attention to domestic violence and femicide in Pakistan.

A highly educated and accomplished professional, Hina held a master’s degree in mathematics and had built a career in digital media and design.

Before her marriage, she was known for leading an independent, professional life and had also worked in prominent institutional spaces, including the National Assembly and the President’s House.

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Hina married Dr Faisal Asghar in November 2025, just nine months before her death.

According to reports citing her family, she had complained of domestic abuse during her marriage.

On August 20, 2026, Hina was found dead inside the bathroom of her in-laws’ residence at Askari Apartments in Rawalpindi’s Lal Kurti area.

Her hands were reportedly tied behind her back, while an electric wire and rope were wrapped around her neck and tied to the shower.

A cloth was also found stuffed in her mouth. Her postmortem reportedly showed multiple severe injuries, including fractured neck bones and broken ribs.

Police subsequently arrested her husband and a domestic worker, Zeeshan Arshad, in connection with the case.

Investigators have been examining allegations that the crime scene was staged, while forensic tests, DNA profiling and other investigative procedures are being carried out.

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The case has drawn attention beyond Rawalpindi, with activists demanding accountability and a transparent investigation.

Pakistan’s First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has also called for a thorough probe into Hina’s death.

Sabah Bano Malik, Hina Javed’s cousin, said Hina had been “brutally, brutally beaten” and described her as a highly career-driven woman whose professional journey was on an upward trajectory.

Hina had recently been promoted and transferred from her role with Pakistan’s National IT Board to the President’s House, she added.

Her killing comes amid a series of brutal cases involving women and girls across Pakistan, including the alleged rape and murder of 18-month-old Aizal Ali by a teenage relative in Karachi and the rape and killing of five-year-old Ayat in northwest Pakistan, whose body was reportedly found in a well.

Pakistan has designated 480 courts to deal with gender-based violence, with specially trained judges handling such cases. A 2016 law also sought to prevent families from pardoning perpetrators in so-called “honour” killings.