Islamabad: The media fraternity in Pakistan was shocked after a foreign woman journalist was found dead at her house in the national capital on Monday.
The body of Maria Golovnina was found in the bathroom of a house being used as an office, agencies reported quoting police sources.
According to the police, Golovnina, a Russian reporter, went to office and came back in the afternoon as she was not feeling well. Initial information revealed that she was feeling heavy headed and dropped on the floor after vomiting, the police said.
She was the bureau chief of Reuters for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A message from Reuters said: ‘We are saddened to announce that Maria Golovnina, Reuters Bureau Chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, passed away on Monday. She was 34. Maria fell unconscious in the Islamabad bureau. An ambulance arrived quickly and she was rushed to Kulsum International Hospital, but medical teams were unable to save her’ – @ReutersPR”
According to her colleagues, the journalist was rushed to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where she was pronounced dead.
According to a PIMS spokesperson, Golovnina’s body did not bear any torture marks.
Her body will be sent for a post mortem to ascertain the cause of death while an investigation is being carried out by the police.
Dr Ayesha Ishani, the spokesperson for Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), said that she was brought dead to the hospital. Before that she was taken to a private hospital where she was pronounced dead. She further said that it was too early to get to the cause of death.
Contrary to the police version, the spokesperson said that Golovnina was found dead from the washroom of her office, adding that the body was recovered after breaking the door. Post-mortem report will reveal the real cause of death, she said.
Golovnina’s husband had initially refused PIMS administration to carry out a post-mortem but then later gave permission for the hospital to carry out one.
Dr Ishani further said her post-mortem is underway and being carried out by medico-legal officers.
Golovnina was a superb journalist with a long and varied career at Reuters. A fluent Japanese and Russian speaker, she joined Reuters in Tokyo in 2001 and subsequently worked in postings around the world including London, Singapore, Moscow, Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2013, Maria became Bureau Chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and led her team through an impressive run of exclusives and insights. Her talents, energy and can-do spirit will be sorely missed,” said a statement released by Reuters‘ on Golovnina’s death.