10 things you should know about Reuters bureau chief Maria Golovnina

Maria Golovnina was found dead at her office in Islamabad on Monday

Pakistan and Afghanistan bureau chief for Reuters, Maria Golovnina, was found dead at her office located in Sector F-8 in Islamabad on Monday.

In a statement, Reuters called Golovnina “a superb journalist with a long and varied career.”

Read: Reuters' bureau chief found dead in Islamabad

Here are 10 things you should know about Maria who was widely loved and admired for her courage, compassion and professionalism.”

1) A Russian who had been working with Reuters for 13 years, her most recent stint Reuters Bureau Chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

2) She joined Reuters in Tokyo in 2001 and was always on the move, reporting from some of the world's most dangerous places. She worked in London, Singapore, Moscow, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia (where she did a lot of reporting on the Chechen insurgency), Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya before being appointed bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2013.

Read: Maria Golovnina: The fearless reporter who combined empathy with storytelling



PHOTO: REUTERS

3) English is Maria’s third language – her native tongue was Russian and she was raised in Japan.

4) As head of Reuters Pakistan bureau, Maria brought some stability following the departure of several staff prior to her posting, including her predecessor.

5) Maria was just 34 years old at the time of her death.



Reuters journalist Maria Golovnina rests with her colleagues at a checkpoint manned by anti-Gaddafi forces, north of the besieged city of Bani Walid, in this picture taken September 19, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS

6) Monday, the day she passed away was her first day back at the office after a break owing to a leg injury.

7) The much-loved journalist’s last tweet from her Twitter account @MariaGolovnina was on February 18. She had tweeted a Daily Mail report stating Pakistan was sending back home Afghan refugees as a “diversion” in its fight against militants.

Update from the border: #Afghans ordered out of #Pakistan as 'diversion' in militant fight http://t.co/rYj6BWcsaG

— Maria Golovnina (@MariaGolovnina) February 18, 2015

8) Her husband initially did not let the doctors at PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) carry out an autopsy to find the cause of death. The Russian Embassy in Islamabad had to be get involved for permission from Maria’s parents in Russia.

Read: Journalist’s Death: Post-mortem, lab results awaited



Reuters bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan Maria Golovnina laughs as she plays with a dog at the Romanian embassy in Islamabad July 25, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS

9) Doctors on February 25 said that the autopsy showed marks on her body including the area around the neck but it is yet to be ascertained whether these were caused prior to her death or after.

10) Police in Islamabad have said that they are exploring all angles to her sudden and tragic death.