Senior insurance company official 'commits suicide' by jumping off building in Karachi

Published
Zafar Iqbal, 55, was serving as the deputy manager administration at State Life Insurance Building No. 2 in Karachi. — File
Zafar Iqbal, 55, was serving as the deputy manager administration at State Life Insurance Building No. 2 in Karachi. — File

A senior official of an insurance company, who was reportedly facing an inquiry over some "personal activities", on Wednesday allegedly ended his life by jumping from the 11th floor of a building on Karachi's I.I. Chundrigar Road, according to police and sources.

Zafar Iqbal, 55, was serving as the deputy manager administration at State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) Building No. 2 opposite Habib Bank Plaza on I.I. Chundrigar Road.

His family disputed the claim that Iqbal had committed suicide and suggested that his death was a murder.

But City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muquddus Haider told Dawn that initial investigation and eye-witness accounts showed that Iqbal, the father of four children, did commit suicide.

The senior officer said that further investigation into the incident was underway because the family had disputed the police version.

According to SSP Haider, a guard deployed at the SLIC office tried to persuade Iqbal not to jump from the building, but the latter proceeded to do so anyway.

Another officer, Mithadar Station House Officer Rizwan Patel, said that they were waiting for a doctors’ report to know more about the death.

The deceased official's body was shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for autopsy.

A police source told Dawn that Iqbal was reportedly "depressed" of late as an inquiry had been initiated against him by State Life authorities over his "personal conduct" in the office.

Opinion

Editorial

AJK violence
Updated 16 Jul, 2026

AJK violence

Violent confrontations have claimed some 30 lives of both security personnel and protesters since last month.
Deadly lapses
16 Jul, 2026

Deadly lapses

PAKISTAN has investigated too many HIV outbreaks over the past decade to still be surprised by the causes. The ...
Doomed tax initiative
16 Jul, 2026

Doomed tax initiative

THE FBR’s draft simplified tax regime for small shopkeepers is the latest in a long line of attempts to persuade...
Beyond declarations
Updated 15 Jul, 2026

Beyond declarations

States that fail to harness the talents of half their population limit their own growth and resilience.
A timely authority
15 Jul, 2026

A timely authority

EVERY summer now seems to bring fresh warnings from Pakistan’s northern mountains. This week was no different, ...
India voter purge
15 Jul, 2026

India voter purge

AFTER over 12 years of BJP rule, minorities in India — particularly its Muslims — face fascist thuggery at the...