The brother of the deceased model and actor Humaira Asghar Ali has criticised the media for reporting that the family refused to claim her body.

Earlier this week, Humaira’s partially decomposed body was found in her rented apartment in Karachi’s upscale Defence Housing Authority (DHA) when the police entered to enforce a court-ordered eviction.

Police on Wednesday said that she might have died around six months ago, citing the expiry date of food kept in the refrigerator and her phone records, which were both from September 2024.

They also said that when approached, her family in Lahore — particularly her father — refused to take the body for burial, triggering shock across the entertainment industry. A day earlier, the brother Naveed Asghar arrived in Karachi to take the body to Lahore for burial. Police had stated that the actor’s body would be handed over to her brother after DNA matching.

An autopsy report by police surgeon Summaiya Syed today, seen by Dawn.com, confirmed that the body was in an “advanced stage of decomposition” and at least eight months old.

Speaking to journalists last night, Naveed said, “The body was in police custody. The police had kept the body for investigation before calling us (the family) to claim it.”

He said that for the last three days, the family was in contact with Chhipa and the police, including Station House Officer Farooq Ahmed Sanjrani of the Gizri Police.

“According to the guidelines, we were [eventually] going to receive the body and perform the rites,” he said.

Naveed criticised the media for reporting that the family had refused to accept Humaira’s body, revealing that his parents were “distressed” due to the recent death of another close relative.

“Due to the condition of the body, we could not carry it at that moment,” he said, adding that the police were carrying out legal procedures before the handover.

“The media’s focus was entirely on our family. It never highlighted other possible causes of death,” he said.

Naveed acknowledged that his sister’s body was several months old, urging that the media should urge authorities to manage the installation of CCTV cameras in every house with a tenant.

Naveed also said that Humaira was an “independent person” who wouldn’t visit the family for extended periods.

“She moved to Karachi and had been living here for the last seven years … she would visit home after several months or even a year at times,” he said. “She didn’t contact us for a year, although our mother had reached out to her asking about her whereabouts.”

He continued: “Her mobile phone had been switched off for the last six months, so our mother could not contact Humaira. We could not trace her number either.”

Authorities, celebrities step in for late actor’s burial

The reports suggesting Humaira’s family had refused to claim her body prompted the authorities and celebrities to come forward and take responsibility for her burial.

The Sindh culture department offered to take care of Humaira’s burial and funeral if no relatives were willing to do so.

In a notification issued by the Sindh culture department on Thursday, Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah took notice of her death. He was “very much aggrieved for non-cooperation from her legal heirs to take over custody of the body for burial.”

“In light of this situation and considering her contributions to the arts and culture of the country, the culture department is willing to take responsibility for her burial arrangements with respect and in a dignified manner,” read the notice.

Meanwhile, several members of the entertainment fraternity also approached the police, expressing their willingness to perform the last rites and arrange the burial. Actors Yashma Gill and Sonya Hussayn were among many who volunteered to take responsibility for arranging the burial.

The Actors Collective of Pakistan — a trade body representing actors in the country — had also announced that it will ensure she is “laid to rest with the dignity and respect every human being deserves”.

“In our family, no one is forgotten. No member is left behind. We stand together — in life, in loss, and in remembrance,” the organisation wrote in a statement on Wednesday.