Mir Raza murder case: SHC reserves order on family's plea seeking JIT

Mir Raza murder case: SHC reserves order on family's plea seeking JIT.

Key points

• Ishaq Tanoli Published August 31, 2026 Updated August 31, 2026 03: 50pm.
• Ali, a 25-year-old Karachi-based businessman, was discovered dead with a gunshot wound in Gulistan-I-Jauhar last month, a day after he was noted missing on July 28.
• A two-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Adnan Karim Memon, took up the family's petition on Monday.
• Ishaq Tanoli is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 20 years of experience covering judicial and electoral affairs.
• Nevertheless, authorities proceeded with the commission, with Justice Omar Sial appointed as its head.

Ishaq Tanoli Published August 31, 2026 Updated August 31, 2026 03: 50pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea seeking the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) in the Mir Raza Ali murder case.

Ali, a 25-year-old Karachi-based businessman, was discovered dead with a gunshot wound in Gulistan-I-Jauhar last month, a day after he was noted missing on July 28. His family, which has raised questions regarding the case's investigation and accused authorities of trying to bury the facts, had moved the SHC last week against a decision of the provincial administration to form a judicial commission and sought the formation of a JIT instead.

Notably, a two-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Adnan Karim Memon, took up the family's petition on Monday.

In practice, the Sindh advocate general (AG), prosecutor general, Karachi police surgeon, police authorities, the case's investigating officer, Ali's family, and their counsel Jibran Nasir appeared before the court during the hearing.

After which the court enquired concerning the difference between a JIT and a judicial commission, nasir reiterated the demand for a JIT.

To that, the state's lawyer remarked, "A JIT will investigate the case from various angles while a commission can provide assistance in the investigation".

Nasir reminded the court that to investigate the Gul Plaza blaze, a JIT and a commission were formed separately.

He further alleged that police personnel had destroyed evidence in the case, adding that this was additionally mentioned in his plea.

Nasir additionally accused police of "spreading false news through the media" and went on that no statements were recorded a number of days after the case was registered and that the "crime scene was set on fire".

"It was set on fire to search for a bullet, just as the crime scene was washed in Rawalpindi, " he remarked, seemingly referring to the washing of the site of the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

He remarked no action was taken against the police officers "who destroyed the case and tampered with the evidence".

"We had demanded departmental action, " Nasir remarked, adding that it was the investigation team's job to find the suspects.

For context, the Sindh advocate general informed the court that the "commission's function was to investigate the negligence (in the investigation)".

Nasir maintained that "the SC has in the past also granted permission to form a JIT as well in case of administrative sabotage".

"There is sabotage at the highest level of the police in this case, " he remarked, recalling that police had declared the case shut "even before Ali's grave was dug" – a reference to the exhumation of Ali's body for a second autopsy after the Karachi police surgeon pointed out loopholes in the first post-mortem report.

According to When the court, the administration had already formed a commission, Nasir argued that the commission would be backed by the "same team that has failed to trace the suspects even after a month".

For his part, the Sindh AG clarified that the provincial administration was "not against the family". After these arguments, the court reserved its order on the petition.

Ishaq Tanoli is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 20 years of experience covering judicial and electoral affairs. As well as election matters, his reporting focuses on the proceedings of the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court. He can be discovered on X at @ishaqtanolihotm.

In short, mir Raza murder case: SHC reserves order on family' s plea seeking JIT is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.