KARACHI: Police on Monday declared the mysterious deaths of three women found dead in their Gulshan-i-Iqbal apartment on Sunday a homicide and registered a murder case against unknown person(s).

Bodies of Samina, 52, her 19-year-old daughter Samreen, and 22-year-old daughter-in-law Maha were recovered from the apartment, where Samina’s son Muhammad Yaseen was also found unconscious.

Area SHO Mohammed Naeem Rajput said that the police registered a case under Section 302 (premeditated murder) on behalf of the state and launched an investigation.

SSP-East Zubair Nazir Ahmed Shaikh told Dawn that Yaseen regained consciousness but his statement could not be recorded as he was not cooperating with investigators.

He said police got some clues and the investigators were working on it but it would be premature to share anything with the media at this stage.

He said that the police were informed about the bodies by Yaseen’s father husband Muhammad Iqbal. “Both are under observation,” he said.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the body of Maha was partially decomposed. She said this showed there was a difference in the time of death of the three women, raising suspicions about homicide.

Earlier on Sunday, SSP Shaikh had said investigators ruled out the possibility of any gas leakage causing the deaths. Besides there was no forcible entry, marks of strangulation or other injuries on the bodies, he added.

Man shot dead

A man was shot dead and another injured in Saeedabad on Monday, officials said.

Area SHO Pervez Solangi said that the injured man, Umar Mustafa, 24, had entered a house in Gulshan-i-Mazdoor near Lal Masjid to meet a woman. Neighbours saw Mustafa enter the house and raised alarm, assuming he was a robber.

Meanwhile, an armed neighbor Mohammed Arif, 45, came out of his home and challenged Mustafa, who was also armed. They both exchanged gunfire, resulting in the killing of Arif and injuries to Mustafa.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2025