Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said on Thursday that a joint investigation team (JIT) would be formed as per the recommendations of the judicial commission formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder of Mir Raza Ali.

The 25-year-old businessman and Institute of Business Administration graduate had gone missing on July 28 after leaving his home in PECHS, and his body with gunshot wounds was found a day later in bushes in Gulistan-i-Jauhar’s locality.

A judicial commission, formed on the Sindh government’s directives after the family accused police of burying the facts, has declared that Ali’s death was a murder and pointed out lapses by the police during the probe.

Speaking to the media in Karachi on Thursday, Lanjar said: “The JIT will be formed under the West Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Baloch, and the summary has been sent to the chief minister.”

The decision to form a JIT under DIG Baloch was in accordance with the judicial commission’s report, which suggested his appointment.

Submitted to the government on Oct 15, the report by Sindh High Court judge Justice Omar Sial had recommended forming a JIT under the leadership of DIG Baloch to “balance the need for public accountability with preserving Sindh Police morale and reputation”.

The commission had termed the formation of a JIT the “most viable path” to mitigate ongoing reputational damage to the Sindh government.

Lanjar further said that in his recommendations to CM Murad Ali Shah, he has suggested the JIT’s terms of reference (TORs) include presenting a charge sheet after completing the investigation.

However, he added. “It is the prerogative of the court to accept it or not under the circumstances; either it is a murder or suicide.”

In its report, the judicial commission had also recommended integrating senior representatives from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in the JIT to “ensure an impartial, comprehensive, and credible resolution”.

The notification of the JIT’s formation and composition is yet to be issued.

Furthermore, in line with another recommendation of the judicial commission, the home minister said a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of DIG Zulfiqar Ali Larik to take action against any police officers involved in negligence.

‘Epic failure’

The 62-page judicial commission report, authored by Justice Sial, had declared: “This case demonstrates an epic failure by the police in their investigation.”

The commission, which examined 49 witnesses and the available record, determined that police investigation “failed in its most basic duty: to establish the truth”.

Besides making several recommendations regarding the case and police training, it had also listed its observations for certain police officials involved in the investigation, finding “criminal negligence” by three.

Initially, the police built the case around suicide on the basis of the first autopsy, which indicated a bullet entry wound on the chest, and by pointing out business losses and money borrowed by the victim.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed had disputed the findings of the first post-mortem conducted by medico-legal officer Dr Osama Sheikh.

The second post-mortem report termed the findings of the first report “inconsistent” with suicide as the manner of Mir Raza’s death. It said the Exhumation Board was of the unanimous opinion that the death was caused by a gunshot wound to the back.

In August, the provincial government formed the commission, which was tasked with making recommendations for further investigation and forensic analysis or legal/departmental action, and it was required to submit its findings and recommendations to the Sindh government within 30 days.

However, the commission had struggled to meet its deadline and sent an application last month to the Sindh government for an extension of its tenure till Oct 15. Therefore, the provincial cabinet granted an extension.

KARACHI: Cases have been registered against Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Pakistan Railways Police officials in Karachi following a scuffle between the two sides over a dispute concerning the construction of a road.

The controversy centres on a dual carriageway linking Natha Khan Bridge with Pehlwan Goth and Habib University, running parallel to Chakor Nullah. Valued at around Rs780 million, the project is expected to ease pressure on Sharea Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, Dalmia Road and Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The confrontation between the two departments threatens to disrupt construction weeks before its scheduled completion.

KMC City Wardens Director Saim Imran is the complainant in the case against Railways police. The first information report (FIR) registered on his complaint quoted him as saying that a road had been under construction from Natha Khan to Pehlwan Goth for the past four months and that he was on traffic management duty at the site on the day of the incident.

He alleged that Cantt police station SHO Ahsan Rasheed arrived at the site with other police personnel and assaulted him.

The complainant further alleged that he was taken to an undisclosed location, where he was tortured. He claimed that he was asked to hold the feet of senior officers and lick their shoes on their instructions.

He was subjected to further torture after refusing to comply, according to the FIR.

Imran added that he lost consciousness due to the alleged torture and regained consciousness at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

According to the information provided, the case was registered at Shahrah-i-Faisal police station on the KMC’s complaint.

Separately, an FIR against Imran and others was registered at the Railway Karachi Cantonment police station on the complaint of a railways official, Mohammed Hussain.

The FIR invokes Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of a common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 354 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 324 (attempt to murder) and 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Railways Act and Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the FIR, a railways official had noted the construction of a road “on a railway track” under the Natha Khan Bridge, terming it “illegal” and asked for it to be stopped. The complainant said he, along with Railways police, reached the site and asked a sub-engineer to show the no-objection certificate issued by the Pakistan Railways for the road construction.

In the meantime, Imran, “in a fit of anger, pulled out a pistol and pointed it towards Railways SHO Ahsan Rasheed while using abusive language”, the FIR said.

There were around 25-30 city wardens and they “attacked” railways police on Imran’s instructions, the complainant alleged, adding that Imran also threatened them with dire consequences. Imran also tore the uniform of the Railways SHO and tortured PR employees, the complainant claimed.

The city wardens have also been accused of misbehaving with a female from the PR.

They eventually “forcibly took away” Imran, the FIR said.

The incident

The incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon when railway police officials intervened at the construction site and stopped the work, prompting the chief of KMC City Wardens to arrive at the site.

The two sides initially engaged in a heated exchange over the construction, which soon escalated into a physical scuffle. The KMC alleged that the railways police personnel severely beat the City Wardens director before taking him to a Pakistan Railways police station.

“The land where the road was being constructed belonged to the KCR and that the dispute arose over construction activity on the railway land,” a PR official said.

He added railway authorities were collecting information about the incident and would determine the next course of action in accordance with the law once all relevant details had been gathered.

The KMC, meanwhile, expressed strong resentment, questioning why the PR had raised objections so late, putting a multi-million-rupee public welfare project at risk just weeks before its completion.

The KMC spokesman rejected the PR’s claim and said that the municipal body had fulfilled all legal requirements before launching the project more than two months ago.

“This is not correct,” he said responding to the railways’ claim over land ownership.

“This is a major project in terms of benefits it will bring to the people and any move to undermine its potential or put it at risk would be detrimental to the interests of Karachi’s residents.”

He said senior KMC officials were in contact with the railways authorities and expressed the hope that the matter would be resolved soon.