- Lawyer says panel formation to have negative impact.
- Nothing wrong with judicial commission: Karachi mayor.
- Mir Raza was found dead on July 29 in Karachi’s Jauhar.
KARACHI: The newly-formed judicial commission to probe young businessman Mir Raza Ali’s murder has been tasked to prepare a report on the gruesome killing in 30 days, the city’s mayor said on Monday.
However, the deceased man’s family has moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the inquiry panel’s formation, saying that its constitution at this stage will have a negative impact on the case.
The Sindh government had requested the province’s top court to form a judicial commission, which today appointed Justice Omar Sial, an incumbent judge of the SHC, to lead the panel.
In response to the family’s objections over the commission, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab said: “In the end, justice will be served by the court, right? So, this same court is probing the case; what’s wrong with it? Assist the commission so we can move towards the conclusion of this case.”
The commission will examine the constitutional and legal aspects of the investigation and determine the facts of the case, with a focus on ensuring transparency, according to a notification issued to establish the panel.
Mir Raza, an IBA graduate and businessman, was found dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar a day after he went missing on July 28.
His father has consistently maintained that his son was murdered and has rejected suggestions that the death was a case of suicide.
An autopsy found that the young businessman had been shot in the back. As per the medical report, marks of violence were also found on Mir Raza’s body. The report read that black marks were also found on his body, while injury marks were present on his feet. Blood stains were found on tissues in the lower part of his body.
A fracture and injury measuring approximately 12 centimetres in length were identified on Ali’s right thigh, according to the report. The report also found evidence of a deep injury and fracture in the jaw area.
Plea against commission
Following media reports that the government had decided to form a judicial commission, the family of the young businessman approached the SHC, seeking the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the case.
Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon heard the petition in his chamber. The court issued notices to the parties and sought their responses by August 31.
Nineteen individuals and entities, including various Sindh government departments, have been named as respondents in the petition. Doctors Usama and Samia, who conducted Mir Raza’s post-mortem examination, have also been made parties to the case.
Members of the team investigating the case have also been named as respondents.
The petitioner’s lawyer said the police investigation had so far failed to reach any conclusion. He said the family had learnt through the media that the Sindh government was forming a judicial commission.
Lawyer Jibran Nasir argued that forming a judicial commission at this stage would adversely affect the case. He also said the findings of a judicial commission’s inquiry could not be presented before the court as a charge sheet.
‘Evidence … destroyed’
Speaking to the media in Karachi today, the family’s lawyer, Nasir, said the family had also written to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah regarding the matter.
“There should be a question as to why the evidence was destroyed,” he said, adding that no action had been taken against the officials concerned.
According to Nasir, the family learnt about the Sindh government’s decision to form a judicial commission through the media, adding that its findings would not form part of the challan report.
“The narrative of suicide was created by selectively releasing CCTV footage at will,” Nasir alleged, saying that the family had not been provided the CCTV footage either.
He further questioned why authorities were now saying the cameras were faulty after 25 days.
“After 25 days, they are now saying the cameras are faulty,” Nasir said, adding that the vehicles visible in the CCTV footage had not been investigated.
