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KARACHI, October 20, 2026: A judicial commission investigating the death of 25-year-old Mir Raza Ali has recommended forming a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) led by DIG Irfan Baloch to pursue the case.
The proposed team would include senior representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
The commission, headed by Sindh High Court Judge Justice Omar Sial, submitted its report to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on October 15. According to the executive summary reviewed by The Express Tribune, the commission said serious investigative failures had undermined public confidence and compromised evidence.
It recommended an intelligence-based investigation involving multiple agencies as a way to establish the facts and restore public trust.
Mir Raza Ali, an Institute of Business Administration graduate who operated a waffle business called Wafflix, went missing from his PECHS residence in the early hours of July 28, 2026.
His family registered FIR No. 795/2026 at Ferozabad police station the same day under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which concerns kidnapping.
Police found his body the following morning within the jurisdiction of Gulistan-e-Johar police station. Authorities conducted an initial post-mortem at Jinnah Hospital before burying him that day.
Police initially treated the death as a suspected suicide. However, the family challenged that conclusion, alleging that the body showed signs of torture.
The commission’s report said the Police Surgeon identified anomalies in the initial post-mortem report in early August. Authorities subsequently exhumed the body on August 8 for further examination.
The final official report, issued around August 31, attributed the death to “a perforating firearm injury from the back, ruling out suicide”.
Investigators later added Sections 302 PPC, relating to murder, and 201 PPC, concerning the disappearance or destruction of evidence, to the FIR.
The commission concluded that the available medical and physical evidence excluded suicide. It cited the bullet’s trajectory, wound location, absence of blood, the condition of the body, alleged acid burns and anaesthesia detected in the blood.
The commission strongly criticised the handling of the case, saying investigators failed to establish the truth.
According to the report, the initial suicide theory relied on unverified text messages, selected video footage obtained by SHO Adeel Afzaal and an initial post-mortem report that did not itself conclude the death was a suicide.
The commission also noted that a second report by Dr Osama Shaikh contradicted the first.
It described the investigation as “a rudderless ship, not aware of its destination” and said “an active cover-up in the initial stages of the investigation cannot be conclusively ruled out”.
The report identified several concerns, including what it described as tunnel vision among senior officers and a continued reliance on the original suicide theory instead of pursuing alternative explanations.
It also criticised the handling of evidence, saying dozens of authorised and unauthorised police personnel dealt with material without proper documentation.
Furthermore, the commission said police had not followed its recommendation to appoint a focal person for public briefings, allowing speculation to grow around the case.
However, the commission acknowledged that it lacked the investigative powers to determine conclusively whether a cover-up had occurred.
The report also examined changes to the medical board appointed to investigate the death.
On August 6, following a court order under Section 176(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), authorities notified an eight-member board headed by Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.
In the early hours of August 7, the Sindh Health Directorate replaced it with a five-member board that included several doctors from Hyderabad and Jamshoro.
Mir Raza’s family rejected the revised board at the graveyard, delaying the exhumation. Following public pressure and a legal notice, the government restored the original board on August 8. The exhumation was completed at 11am that day.
The commission described the changes as “a highly irregular, inexplicable, legally flawed overreach dictated entirely from the upper echelons of the Sindh Health Secretariat, more specifically by the Secretary and Special Secretary, Health”.
It also criticised the director-general of health services for allegedly failing to intervene despite questions about his legal authority to constitute the board.
According to the report, the officials who directed the change could not provide a convincing explanation for the abrupt decision.
The commission also examined a meeting held at the Chief Minister’s House on August 9, 2026. Dr Osama attended the meeting at the request of the Additional Inspector General of Police Karachi.
The report said “no evidence has emerged” that the meeting was convened to pressure the doctor. It added that “no adverse inference can be drawn from the briefing itself”.
However, the commission said it would have been prudent to invite the Police Surgeon to the meeting as well.
The report also criticised what it described as Dr Osama’s continued attempts to make the meeting controversial and alleged efforts to discredit the Police Surgeon.
The commission said the case had reached a critical stage because public confidence in the investigation had deteriorated. It warned that even a correct conclusion or the arrest of the actual perpetrator might not satisfy the public.
It also said significant physical evidence had been compromised, making a rigorous, intelligence-based investigation necessary.
The commission recommended that police acknowledge their operational failures, apologise transparently and initiate formal inquiries against officers responsible for the lapses.
It further proposed forming the JIT under DIG Irfan Baloch, with representatives from the ISI, IB, Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and NCCIA. The commission said the proposed arrangement would address the family’s request and help restore public confidence.
In a separate recommendation, it called for a high-level inquiry, preferably led by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), into the conduct of police officials involved in the first 10 days of the investigation.
The inquiry would examine whether officials violated Sections 201, 166(2) and 218 PPC. The commission recommended criminal proceedings, alongside disciplinary action, against any officials found culpable.
The commission began its work on August 27, 2026, and recorded statements through October 7.
It held 20 public sessions, heard testimony from 50 witnesses and inspected the crime scene and surrounding areas on October 5.
According to the report, the public hearings aimed to promote transparency and reduce speculation.
The commission’s detailed observations on accountability appear in its response to Terms of Reference 3, while its recommendations are set out under Terms of Reference 4.
The report was presented to the Sindh cabinet in seven separate envelopes during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah at the CM House in Karachi, according to a spokesperson.
The chief minister formed a subcommittee comprising Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Nasir Hussain Shah, Saeed Ghani and the advocate general to oversee implementation of the recommendations.
During the same meeting, the cabinet also approved a World Bank-supported property tax reform programme worth $150 million.
Under the Sindh Property Revenue Enhancement Programme, the government aims to increase property tax collection across Karachi’s 25 town municipal corporations from Rs2.3 billion to Rs25.5 billion.
The World Bank is expected to provide $110 million for the Programme-for-Results component and $40 million for investment projects. The Sindh government will contribute an additional 20% of the amount linked to the Programme-for-Results component.
The programme also aims to modernise property tax collection in other urban local councils and strengthen the institutional capacity of 45 selected councils.
The cabinet also approved the introduction of an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) in local government institutions to improve financial management and administrative performance.
The programme package includes financing and implementation agreements, a results assessment framework, verification procedures, and environmental and social safeguards. The cabinet approved the package retrospectively, according to the chief minister’s spokesperson.
The World Bank’s board was expected to consider the programme package on October 30, 2026.
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