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Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has assured that the investigation into the death of Mir Raza will be conducted fairly and that his family will be kept informed at every stage of the probe.
Speaking to the media at the Karachi Arts Council on Tuesday, CM Shah said investigating the case was the police’s responsibility and no negligence would be tolerated.
He said that once the case was resolved, action would be taken against those responsible for any shortcomings in the police and medico-legal systems.
CM Shah clarified that the proposed judicial commission was not intended to investigate Raza’s death but to identify shortcomings in the police and medico-legal systems.
He said Raza’s family had expressed its desire that no judicial commission be formed and the provincial government had respected their wishes.
The chief minister said that after the investigation was completed, it would be his responsibility to take action over any negligence identified in the police or medico-legal system.
Raza went missing from Ferozabad on July 28 and his body was found near a guesthouse in Gulistan-e-Johar the following day.
Police initially treated the death as a suspected suicide. However, an exhumation and a second post-mortem ordered by a court later revealed evidence of severe physical violence.
A medical board found multiple injuries, including fractures to Raza’s ribs, teeth and skull. It also determined that the fatal bullet had entered from the back, following which a murder charge was added to the case.
A forensic DNA report has since confirmed that the body was Raza’s after samples collected during the exhumation matched reference samples from his parents. Blood samples recovered from the crime scene also matched, according to forensic sources.
The investigation team is also examining Raza’s mobile phone records. According to investigators, he spoke to people identified as Ali and his friend Abdullah before his death, while the phone contained eight unanswered messages received shortly before his death.
Responding to questions about the creation of new provinces, CM Shah said he had already made his position clear that any change would have to follow the Constitution.
He said he did not believe any present or future provincial assembly would secure the two-thirds majority required to create a new province.
Referring to calls for a new province in Punjab, CM Shah said such demands were being raised because the Punjab Assembly had already passed resolutions concerning the creation of a new province.
“If the people of Punjab are so concerned about Sindh, they should follow the constitutional procedure, contest elections in Sindh and, if the people support them, serve them,” he said.
He added that if they did not receive public support, they could ask their political party to serve the people of Sindh through the federal government.
On the failure to convene a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), Shah said holding a meeting within 90 days was a constitutional requirement.
He urged journalists to ask the federal government why the CCI meeting had not been convened despite Sindh’s demand.
Asked about the recovery of missing girl Priya Kumari, the chief minister acknowledged that there had been no breakthrough so far.
Shah said information about Priya Kumari had been received once or twice, but none of the leads had produced a result.
He said efforts to recover her were continuing.
