Shaheena Shaheen, a talk show host at Pakistan’s state-owned broadcaster Pakistan Television and editor of a local magazine, was shot dead at her home in Balochistan on Saturday evening.
Police in southwest Pakistan have launched a hunt for the killer of the journalist. Shaheen’s family suspected that her husband was involved in the murder, reports Al Jazeera.
Shaheen had a court marriage about six months ago and was living with her husband, according to the police.
"We have registered a case and started a search for the killer of the female journalist," Siraj Ahmad, investigating officer on the case from Turbat district of Balochistan, said on Sunday.
Sources said Shaheen was dropped off at a hospital in critical condition by two men who then left as doctors tried to save her life.
Police later learned that one of those men was the woman's husband, Nawabzada Mahrab.
They said raids were being carried out to find and arrest the husband after being alerted by the woman's uncle of his involvement.
Pakistan is considered to be one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
Rights group Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 145th out of 180 countries in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
Since 1992, at least 61 Pakistani journalists have been killed in connection with their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In November, another man was accused of killing his journalist wife, Arooj Iqbal, in the eastern city of Lahore.
Pakistan fares badly on global gender indices. In 2019, it ranked 164 out of 167 countries on the Women, Peace and Security Index, only above Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.