RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) - The father of Zeeshan Arshad, a domestic worker accused of assisting in the murder of digital media executive Hina Javed, has claimed that his son is innocent and is being portrayed as the main suspect in the case.
“My son is innocent,” Muhammad Arshad said, alleging that investigators were shifting the responsibility for the murder onto his son.
Zeeshan is accused of helping Faisal Asghar, Hina’s husband, in her killing. Hina, 45, was found dead in the bathroom of her residence in Rawalpindi’s Lal Kurti area on August 21. Her brother subsequently lodged a murder complaint at the Civil Lines police station, alleging that she had been subjected to violence before her death.
According to the post-mortem report, Hina had suffered a fracture in her neck bone, injuries to her ribs and hip, and bleeding around the heart.
Police arrested Faisal and Zeeshan in connection with the case, while Hina’s father-in-law was also named during the investigation. Earlier police accounts alleged that Faisal had offered Zeeshan money to help carry out the murder.
However, Arshad presented a different account of the events leading up to Hina’s death. He said his son had worked at her house for seven months and told him that he woke up on the night of August 20 after hearing a commotion during an argument between Hina and her husband.
According to Arshad, Zeeshan said Faisal was chasing Hina and instructed him to catch her when he encountered the domestic worker.
Arshad claimed his son refused to intervene in the couple’s dispute but was beaten by Faisal, who allegedly threatened him with a gun and ordered him to catch Hina.
“Whatever he did was under coercion,” Arshad claimed, arguing that investigators had focused their attention on his son rather than the other aspects of the case.
He also alleged that police tortured Zeeshan during remand and pressured him to confess to the murder.
Arshad further accused Faisal of killing Hina and subsequently hanging her in the bathroom. These allegations represent the father’s account and have not been independently established.
Disputing claims about his son’s background, Arshad said Zeeshan was around 18 or 19 years old and had no previous criminal cases registered against him.
He maintained that his son was being unfairly held responsible for Hina’s murder and called into question the police account of his alleged involvement.