Zara Abid

She was one of the passengers who died aboard the PIA Flight 8303, which crashed in Karachi, Pakistan on 22 May 2020.

On 22 May 2020, Abid was amongst the passengers of the PIA Flight 8303, which crashed while on final approach for landing near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi; she was said to be returning to the city after attending her uncle's funeral in Lahore. A flight manifest released by PIA showed her name on the list of passengers. Ninety-seven deaths were reported from the 99 people onboard, and she was not reported as one of the survivors. She had been modeling for clothing brand Sana Safinaz at the time when she had to reportedly leave for Lahore. Some initial reports claimed she had survived the accident. After the crash, Abid's brother told the media that her family were still looking for her at the hospital where the injured were admitted, and that they were waiting for an update from authorities. Her brother appealed to stop the spread of fake news regarding the matter.

In January 2020, Abid won an award in the category of "Best Female Model" at the 4th Hum Style Awards.

Zara Abid was born on 4 April in Lahore, Punjab. She grew up and resided in Karachi with her family, and completed her schooling from the St. Patrick’s Girls High School, before graduating with a bachelor's degree and stepping into show business.

One of her photoshoots by a salon for the magazine Hello Mag in 2019, in which she was styled with a skin tone many shades darker than her own self, evoked controversy for allegedly promoting "blackface" and cultural misappropriation, and was perceived by critics as racist. Abid had shared the pictures on her personal Instagram account. The posts were noted to have received backlash and trolling. Abid defended her photoshoot, stating the point was to empower darker-skinned women and send a message on their lack of representation; she also called out the "colourism" that allegedly existed in society, questioning why she was being criticised for adopting a dark profile when in numerous other photoshoots, she had been purposefully presented in lighter tones.

The designer brands for which she had modeled include Sana Safinaz, Wajahat Mansoor, Annus Abrar, Zaheer Abbas, Deepak and Fahad, Payal Keyal, Alkaram, Gul Ahmed, Kayseria, Dhanak, Rang Ja, Generation, Republic Women’s Wear, Hussain Rehar and others. She appeared in television commercials, such as for Zong 4G.

Abid began her acting career with her debut role in the upcoming film Chaudhry, directed by Azeem Sajjad and written by Zeeshan Junaid. The movie is a biopic on the life of slain police officer, Chaudhry Aslam Khan, in which Abid essayed the role of a college student. Talking about her role in an interview, Abid said it was very much relatable to her real-life persona, adding that "the character is really strong and I didn’t think twice before saying yes. The script was narrated to me over the phone and I immediately agreed." She began shooting for the film in December 2018. The movie was expected to release some time in 2020.

On 16 January 2019, she appeared as a guest on the late night television comedy show Mazaaq Raat. On 24 May 2020, her first and only short film Sikka was uploaded onto YouTube just two days after her death as a tribute. Abid portrays two female characters whose lives are shown to be polar opposites in terms of wealth and social status; yet, despite never crossing paths and living very differently, they both share very similar trials and struggles as women in society. The film does not have dialogues, and is narrated in third person by Saba Qamar.

Zara Abid (Urdu: زارا عابد ‎‎; 4 April 1992 – 22 May 2020) was a Pakistani model and actress. She had been featured in various photoshoots. She made her film debut in the movie Chaudhry, directed by Azeem Sajjad.