Karachi police book around 100 protesters seeking justice for Mir Raza

Karachi police on Thursday registered a case against nearly 100 protesters after a late-night demonstration and road blockade at Nursery Stop on Shahrah-e-Faisal.

The protesters were demanding justice for Mir Raza, the 25-year-old owner of a waffle chain who was found dead in July.

According to the first information report (FIR), police officials observed the protest at around 12:30am on August 27. The case was registered about an hour later, at 1:30am, against 20 named individuals and approximately 80 unidentified protesters.

The FIR states that the demonstrators were carrying sticks, placards and banners displaying slogans and messages calling for justice for Raza. They allegedly blocked the section of Shahrah-e-Faisal connecting Saddar with the airport, causing significant disruption to the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

Police officials at the scene reportedly instructed the protesters to vacate the road and end the demonstration. However, according to the FIR, the protesters refused to follow the directions and continued their protest while the road remained blocked.

Raza was reportedly abducted from the PECHS area before his body was discovered in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Johar on July 29. The circumstances surrounding his death initially remained unclear, with questions arising over whether he had been murdered or had taken his own life.

The findings of a second post-mortem examination, however, supported the family’s longstanding allegation that Raza had been murdered. The police investigation has continued to face public scrutiny, particularly because of earlier investigative shortcomings that were also acknowledged by the Sindh police chief.

Police said the repeated closure of Shahrah-e-Faisal had caused serious inconvenience to citizens and disrupted normal traffic.

So far, police have not confirmed the arrest of any of the individuals named in the case.