Meher Bukhari is a Pakistani television journalist and talk-show anchor known for her assertive interviewing style and her long run of political talk shows on some of the country’s biggest news channels. As of 2026, she hosts Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath on Dunya News and remains one of the most-searched political anchors in Pakistan, particularly after her bank account was frozen by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in September 2025 — a move that put her back at the center of the national conversation on press freedom.
Quick Facts
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Meher Bukhari (also written Meher Bokhari, Mehr Bukhari; legal/married name Meher Abbasi) |
| Date of Birth | Sources conflict — most profiles list 18 April 1983, while Wikipedia’s infobox lists 29 February 1984. |
| Age | Approximately 42–43 years old (as of 2026), depending on which birth year is accurate |
| Birthplace | Widely reported as Lahore, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Religion | Islam (as commonly reported; not from a first-person statement) |
| Education | University of Waterloo, Canada |
| Profession | Journalist, TV News Anchor, Talk Show Host |
| Known For | Bold, confrontational interviewing style; hosting political talk shows; the 2012 “Mediagate” controversy |
| Spouse | Kashif Abbasi (journalist/anchor, married 2011) |
| Social Handles | Active on X (Twitter) and Instagram under variations of “Meher Bukhari” — exact verified handles |
Who Is Meher Bukhari?
Meher Bukhari is one of Pakistan’s most recognizable news anchors, known for hosting hard-edged political talk shows that press politicians and officials on accountability and governance. Over a career spanning more than 15 years, she has worked across several of Pakistan’s major news channels, moving between SAMAA TV, Dunya News, Dawn News, Hum News, and ARY News.
She is married to fellow senior anchor Kashif Abbasi, and the two are frequently discussed together in Pakistani media as one of the country’s most prominent “journalist couples” — a status that has placed both of them under scrutiny during recent press-freedom controversies.
Early Life & Family
Public details about Meher Bukhari’s early life are limited and not fully verified by primary sources. She was raised in Pakistan and later went abroad to pursue higher education before returning to build her professional career in Pakistan. Her exact birthplace and birth year are inconsistently reported across sources (see Quick Facts above), and BiographyMakers has not been able to confirm either detail with a primary source.
She is married to Kashif Abbasi, a senior Pakistani anchor best known for hosting ARY News’ long-running program Off The Record. The couple has a daughter, Khadija Zehra Abbasi.
Education
Meher Bukhari completed her higher education at the University of Waterloo in Canada before returning to Pakistan to pursue journalism. Specific details of her undergraduate program or field of study are not publicly documented in verifiable sources.
Career
Early Career: SAMAA TV
Bukhari began her television career as a host and journalist at SAMAA TV, where she built her early reputation for direct, sometimes combative, interview questioning.
Dunya News and the 2012 “Mediagate” Controversy
On 13 June 2012, Bukhari and co-host Mubashir Lucman interviewed property tycoon Malik Riaz on Dunya News, in which Riaz made corruption accusations against Arsalan Iftikhar, son of then-Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The day after the interview aired, leaked audio of off-air conversations between Bukhari, Lucman, and Riaz surfaced online, with the content suggesting the interview had been guided to benefit Riaz and malign the Chief Justice. This episode became known as the “Mediagate” scandal and remains the single most-referenced controversy of her career, prompting widespread criticism over paid or staged influence in Pakistani broadcast journalism.
Dawn News Era (2013–2021)
Following the fallout from the 2012 controversy, Bukhari joined Dawn News in 2013 as a talk-show anchor, where she hosted the program NewsEye for close to eight years, rebuilding her career around political analysis and interviews.
Hum News (2021–2023)
In February 2021, she left Dawn News and joined Hum News, where she hosted Hum Meher Bokhari Kay Saath, continuing her focus on political talk shows through Pakistan’s shifting political alliances of that period.
ARY News (2023–2024)
Bukhari joined ARY News in May 2023. Her stint there overlapped with a turbulent period for her husband Kashif Abbasi at the same channel (see Controversies below).
Return to Dunya News (2024–Present)
Bukhari returned to Dunya News in August 2024, where she currently hosts her flagship show, Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath, airing multiple times a week and focused on governance, national security, and policy debate. Recent high-profile guests on the show have reportedly included Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur (August 2024) and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb (June 2025).
Across her career, she has interviewed a range of major Pakistani political figures, including Imran Khan, Asif Ali Zardari, and Khwaja Asif.
Major Awards / Recognition
No independently verified awards or formal recognitions for Meher Bukhari could be confirmed at the time of writing.
Controversies
The 2012 Malik Riaz “Mediagate” Interview — As detailed above, this remains her most defining controversy: leaked off-air audio suggested the interview was staged to benefit a corporate figure at the expense of judicial independence. The claims sparked a formal Supreme Court-linked inquiry into Pakistani “media ethics” at the time.
FIA Bank Account Freeze (September 2025) — In September 2025, Kashif Abbasi revealed that the FIA had frozen his wife Meher Bukhari’s bank account, which she discovered while trying to access it, and he criticised the move as a violation of rights, noting that his own name had been on a block/no-fly list for months. Abbasi wrote on X that his wife was told the freeze was ordered by the FIA and questioned whether they had “lost their citizenship rights” in the country. Commentary on the episode described Bukhari as reportedly the second high-profile female journalist, after Samina Pasha, to have her financial autonomy restricted in this way. The FIA has not publicly detailed the specific grounds for the freeze in sources reviewed, and no court outcome has been confirmed; this is presented here as a documented event, not a judgment on wrongdoing.
Kashif Abbasi’s ARY Suspension (2025) — This is presented as relevant family/career context rather than Bukhari’s own controversy: Kashif Abbasi, host of ARY News’ Off The Record, was taken off-air earlier in 2025 after a critical on-air monologue about Pakistan’s political system, in which he accused political leaders of undermining the Constitution; ARY subsequently distanced itself from the remarks, suspended him, and aired an apology. Some commentary has linked this episode to the later account freeze as part of a broader pattern affecting both journalists, though this connection is presented by commentators as an interpretation, not an established fact.
Personal Life
Meher Bukhari is married to journalist and anchor Kashif Abbasi; the couple wed in 2011 and have a daughter, Khadija Zehra Abbasi. Beyond her marriage and daughter, Bukhari keeps most other personal-life details out of the public domain, and BiographyMakers could not verify further specifics such as extended family details or residence.
Meher Bukhari in 2026
As of 2026, Meher Bukhari continues to host Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath on Dunya News, maintaining her position as one of Pakistan’s leading political talk-show anchors. She remains a frequently cited figure in ongoing discussions about press freedom in Pakistan, following the September 2025 FIA account freeze, with journalism-watchdog commentary in early 2026 continuing to reference her case as part of a broader pattern of financial and travel restrictions affecting Pakistani journalists critical of state narratives. Her current status regarding the frozen account has not been confirmed as resolved in sources reviewed.
Career Timeline
| Period | Channel | Show/Role |
|---|---|---|
| Early career | SAMAA TV | Host/Journalist |
| 2012 | Dunya News | Anchor (Malik Riaz “Mediagate” interview) |
| 2013–2021 | Dawn News | Host, NewsEye |
| 2021–2023 | Hum News | Host, Hum Meher Bokhari Kay Saath |
| 2023–2024 | ARY News | Anchor |
| Aug 2024–present | Dunya News | Host, Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath |
FAQs
Q1. Who is Meher Bukhari?
Meher Bukhari is a Pakistani television journalist and talk-show anchor, currently hosting Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath on Dunya News.
Q2. How old is Meher Bukhari?
Her exact age is disputed — most sources list her birth date as 18 April 1983, which would make her around 43 in 2026, though some sources cite 29 February 1984 instead. This has not been independently confirmed.
Q3. Who is Meher Bukhari’s husband?
She is married to Kashif Abbasi, a senior Pakistani journalist and anchor best known for ARY News’ Off The Record.
Q4. What is Meher Bukhari’s real name?
Meher Bukhari is her professional name; her married/legal name is often listed as Meher Abbasi.
Q5. Which channel does Meher Bukhari currently work for?
As of 2026, she works for Dunya News, where she returned in August 2024 to host Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath.
Q6. Why was Meher Bukhari’s bank account frozen?
In September 2025, the FIA froze her bank account; her husband, Kashif Abbasi, publicly criticised the move as a rights violation. The FIA’s specific stated grounds have not been confirmed in available sources.
Q7. What is Meher Bukhari’s net worth?
No verified net worth figure is available for Meher Bukhari; any figures circulating online are unconfirmed estimates.
Last updated: August 2026
