Shahzeb Khanzada is a renowned Pakistani journalist and news anchor, widely recognized for hosting Geo TV’s current affairs show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath on Geo News. He gained fame after covering the high-profile Shahzeb Jatoi murder case, for which he won the Best Anchor award in 2013. Recently, he debuted as a screenwriter with the 2025 crime drama series Case No. 9, which successfully aired on Geo TV.
Recently, Shahzeb Khanzada appeared on Something Haute’s YouTube show, hosted by Amna Isani. In the show, he revealed the real-life inspirations behind Case No. 9.
Talking about the characters Rohit and Manisha, Shahzeb said,
“I included a Hindu family because of my Hindu friend, who is very much like me. From my experience on the show, I realized that my experience with minorities is different from that of the masses. In Sindh, people share more or less the same experiences, but in other parts of Pakistan, views about minorities are quite different. Also, whenever we raised our voice for minorities on the show, they would get overwhelmed, as if it was a huge deal. That gratitude from minorities was both surprising and disturbing—it showed me that the issue is far bigger than we think. Rohit is a member of my team, Manisha is his wife, Shehbaz and Aroosa are also in my team. I struggle with names, so I took inspiration for the characters’ names from people I know. For instance, Rohit and Manisha’s son is named Vikash, inspired by my friend Vikash. I wanted to include minorities in the show.” Here is the link to the video:
When asked if any real-life incidents inspired him to write Case No. 9, Shahzeb Khanzada said, “There was no single incident that inspired the story. However, there was a situation where Bukhari brought a team of lawyers to pressure a victim. I know for a fact that it happened in real life, so I included it. Similarly, Inspector Shafiq’s interrogation was real, though the actual one was much more brutal and crude, so we toned it down for the show.” Watch here:
