Former model and freelance journalist Quratulain (Annie) Ali Khan was found dead inside her residence in Karachi on Saturday.

Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) South Omar Shahid told Dawn that her body was recovered from her flat located on the third floor in the Qasr-e-Zainab building situated in the red zone near Karachi Gymkhana and State Guest House.

Police believe it is a case of suicide, and that the deceased may have set her books on fire, owing to which she suffocated to death.

Her body was shifted to Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre where doctors confirmed that suffocation was the cause of death. There were apparently no burn or injury marks on her body.

SSP Shahid said that she was living alone in her flat as her husband reportedly lives abroad.

Another police official, Artillery Maidan Station House Officer Safdar Mashwani, told Dawn that they received information from a neighbour that smoke was emanating from her flat. The police rushed to the spot and found the door locked from inside. The police broke down the door and found her body inside along with some burnt books.

A former neighbour of the deceased told Dawn that Annie had been working as a writer and wrote for various magazines. She has also recently completed her book and said that it was perhaps under in the process of publication.

Annie, 38, was a former model who branched off into journalism and documentary production, and has contributed to Dawn, Herald, Slate, The Express Tribune, The Asia Society, and The Caravan, among other publications.

She wrote 'The missing daughters of Pakistan' for Herald last year.