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KARACHI: The Culture Department of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Thursday announced it would take responsibility for the burial of actress and model Humaira Asghar Ali, whose decomposed body was found in her apartment this week, nearly nine months after her death.

Sindh’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, said the department would perform the last rites of the actress after her family refused to claim the body.

“Humaira Asghar is not without heirs, the Sindh government’s Department of Culture is her guardian,” Shah told Arab News, calling the case “heart-wrenching.”

“Our first effort will be to persuade the parents to receive the body,” he said. “If that does not happen, the Department of Culture will fully cooperate with the police to ensure Humaira Asghar is laid to rest with dignity and respect.”

Shah said he had contacted the Additional Inspector General of Police in Karachi, and the Secretary for Culture had formally written to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South to hand over the body.

The letter, seen by Arab News, states that the minister for culture was “very much aggrieved” by the lack of cooperation from Ali’s legal heirs.

“Considering her contributions to the arts and culture of the country, the Culture Department, Government of Sindh, is willing to take responsibility for her burial arrangements with respect and in a dignified manner,” it says.

The letter requested police to hand over the body to the department “after fulfilling formalities as per law.”

Ali’s body was discovered earlier this week when a court bailiff arrived at her apartment in Karachi’s upscale Ittehad Commercial area to vacate the property following a complaint by the landlord.

Initially, the post-mortem conducted by Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed suggested the body had decomposed over a period of about a month. However, further forensic investigation and digital evidence suggest she likely died in October 2024, nearly nine months ago.

Ali’s last known digital activity, including a Facebook post on September 11 and an Instagram post on September 30, supported that timeline, police said.

Her phone records and call detail data also confirm no communication beyond October last year.

Police said Ali’s family had declined to claim the body. It remains unclear whether she was estranged from her relatives or what the exact reason was for their refusal to receive her remains.

Ali rose to fame after winning Veet Miss Super Model in 2014 and appearing in the reality show Tamasha Ghar in 2022.

She featured in television dramas such as Just Married, Ehsaan Faramosh, Guru, and Chal Dil Mere. In cinema, she appeared in the 2015 action-thriller Jalaibee and later in Love Vaccine in 2021.

KARACHI: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday dismissed rumors that President Asif Ali Zardari is being pushed out of office or that army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is eyeing the presidency, reiterating that there had been no discussion about such a change.

Media chatter about a possible constitutional amendment to replace President Zardari with someone else, potentially even the army chief, has gained traction in recent days. However, key political figures have swiftly rejected the notion.

“We are fully aware of who is behind the malicious campaign targeting President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the Chief of Army Staff,” Naqvi said in a post on X.

“I have categorically stated that there has been no discussion, nor does any such idea exist, about the President being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency.”

The president maintains a “strong and respectful” relationship with the military leadership, Naqvi said, adding that the army chief’s “sole focus” was on Pakistan’s strength and stability. He warned those pushing this narrative in coordination with “hostile foreign agencies” to continue as they wished but vowed that the government would do “whatever is necessary to make Pakistan strong again, InshAllah.”

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) echoed Naqvi’s rebuke, with PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari calling the rumors “baseless” and noting that the country’s federal government could not function without the PPP’s support.

“Zardari is the duly elected president of this country, and this system cannot function without him,” Bukhari said, dismissing the allegations as “uninformed and misleading.”

Irfan Siddiqui, a close aide to Prime Minister Sharif and a former senator, has also rejected the speculation, saying, “No such suggestion is under consideration at any level.”