Inquiry Concludes Journalist’s Death as Suicide

A three-member investigative committee has submitted its 30-page report to Sindh Inspector-General Ghulam Nabi Memon, declaring the demise of journalist Khawar Hussain a “suicide.” The report was released on Friday.

Hussain, a young journalist working with a private news outlet, was discovered deceased inside his vehicle under ambiguous circumstances near a restaurant situated on Hyderabad Road in his hometown of Sanghar the previous week.

The investigative team determined “suicide as the definitive cause of death” following a “thorough examination of the crime scene, interviews with witnesses, review of post-mortem examinations and forensic analysis, alongside assessments of CCTV recordings.”

The report incorporates an eight-page segment supported by medical documentation.

The investigators also scrutinized CCTV footage from Karachi to Sanghar, monitoring Hussain’s route, along with video evidence from the hotel parking facility leading up to the location of the incident.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Irfan Baloch, a member of the panel, stated that CCTV visuals indicated no one approached the journalist’s car during the time of the event.

The report indicates that video evidence, phone logs, and statements from individuals who were last in contact with Hussain were analyzed. Medical and post-mortem analyses corroborated the determination of suicide.

The committee deduced that while the cause of death was suicide, ascertaining the reasons behind it would necessitate the involvement of Hussain’s family.

Detectives revealed that before his death, Hussain had made online payments to a water tanker operator after arranging a water delivery to his residence.

The investigation was spearheaded by Additional Inspector General Azad Khan, with DIG Irfan and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abid Baloch participating as members.

Previously, the initial post-mortem examination indicated that the bullet extracted from his head originated from his own licensed handgun. “Current evidence suggests suicide,” commented a civil surgeon involved in the assessment.

Footage revealed Hussain entering and exiting a nearby eatery twice before returning to his vehicle, where he remained for close to two hours, as per the investigators.

Authorities also recovered one of his two active mobile phones, while the other is still missing. The journalist had been based in Karachi for nearly a decade, having been employed by various media organizations throughout his career.