Mir Raza Ali murder: SHC reserves order on family’s plea for JIT to probe case

The Sindh High Court on Monday reserved its order on a request by Mir Raza Ali's family for constitution of a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the case.

The petition was heard by a two-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Adnan Karim Memon. Lawyer Jibran Nasir represented Ali’s family, while senior government lawyers and police officials appeared before the court.

Advocate Jibran Nasir stated that the family did not believe the judicial commission set up by the Sindh government is sufficient. He alleged that evidence at the crime scene has been tampered with and that police have failed to properly investigate several aspects of the case.

He also claimed that officers have not recorded important statements for several days and provided misleading information to the media.

The lawyer said the investigation has been further called into question after Ali’s body was exhumed for a second autopsy. The exhumation followed concerns raised by the Karachi police surgeon over shortcomings in the initial post-mortem report.

The bench asked the state’s lawyer to explain the distinction between a JIT and the judicial commission already established by the government.

The government lawyer said a JIT would investigate the case from different angles, whereas the commission was primarily concerned with examining possible negligence during the investigation.

Nasir argued that there was no reason why both bodies could not operate independently, pointing to the separate JIT and commission formed to investigate the Gul Plaza fire.

He further alleged that police officials responsible for compromising evidence had not faced departmental action.

The Sindh advocate general rejected the impression that the government was acting against the family, saying the provincial administration was not opposed to their concerns.

After hearing the arguments, the high court reserved its order on the request for a JIT.