Mir Raza exhumation set for Saturday after authorities restore original medical board

Restore original eight-member medical board after Mir Raza’s family rejects a newly formed panel

KARACHI:

Authorities on Friday restored the original medical board to oversee the exhumation and re-postmortem of Wafflix owner Mir Raza Ali, reversing a controversial decision that had triggered strong objections from his family and forced the process to be postponed.

The exhumation will now take place at 11am on Saturday (today), with police and other relevant authorities directed to make all necessary arrangements.

The latest order replaces the disputed five-member panel with the original eight-member medical board that the family had consistently demanded, effectively ending a legal standoff over who should conduct the court-ordered re-postmortem.

Read: CCTV maps Wafflix owner's final hours

Under the revised notification, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed will serve as convener of the board. Dow University professor Dr Naseem has been appointed as the pathologist, Dr Farrukh will serve as the forensic expert, while CPLC official Amir has been included as the forensic identification expert. Dr Kamran, Dr Sri Chand and Dr Daniyal have also been retained as members of the board.

The restoration of the original board comes less than 24 hours after the exhumation was deferred when the Mir family rejected a newly constituted medical panel, arguing that only the board originally formed under court orders could ensure a transparent and credible investigation into the 25-year-old entrepreneur's death.

Earlier in the day, the exhumation was deferred amid a dispute over the constitution of a medical board, with the bereaved family rejecting a newly notified panel and insisting on the original eight-member board.

The body was to be exhumed for a re-postmortem, but the process was halted after the family expressed no confidence in a medical board formed late on Thursday night.

Consultations continued for hours among the police surgeon, judicial magistrate, investigating officer (IO), the deceased's family and their counsel. The IO submitted the family's statement to the magistrate, while Ali's father, Mir Hassan, and lawyer Jibran Nasir also moved separate applications challenging the new board, prompting authorities to defer the exhumation.

Original Special Medical Board constituted by Police Surgeon Karachi after a 24 hour tug of war has been restored & Exhumation expected tomorrow morning in #MirRaza case. This Board is not as per Parents "personal" wishes. Parent only demand was that law & procedure is followed. pic.twitter.com/VZNTyDW5gw

— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) August 7, 2026

Speaking to the media, Mir Hassan said he had full confidence in the original board and would not accept any change. He said he had approached the court himself for exhumation, but a fresh notification was issued overnight, which he rejected. "We have maintained from day one that it is a murder case," he said, adding that a delay of a few days would not deter them.

The bereaved father also questioned remarks attributed to the Sindh police chief about an early resolution of the case, saying such claims were premature when the exhumation and re-postmortem had yet to take place.

Lawyer Nasir said a third notification had been issued by merging earlier boards, but the family did not accept it. He said the family had recorded its statement with the IO and would only recognise the original eight-member board constituted by the police surgeon under court orders.

This has been made possible with help of youth of Karachi & their online and on ground support, journalists & media which highlighted pertinent questions & grievances of family & prompt action by Learned Judicial Magistrate who directed Sec Health to address objection of family.

— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) August 7, 2026

He argued that the Karachi police surgeon was legally empowered to form the board and questioned the involvement of authorities outside the city. He asked under what law the director general health Hyderabad had been made a supervising officer and how the police surgeon's order was superseded.

Nasir also alleged irregularities in the investigation, claiming the bullet casing was recovered only after the family approached the court and that the victim's room had yet to be examined. He said exhumation is a sensitive legal process and could not be conducted under a disputed board.

He added that protests in support of the deceased were continuing at various locations, while the family had also served a legal notice on the Karachi police surgeon and the health secretary, demanding that the original board carry out the exhumation in line with court directives.

Further proceedings are expected following directions from the judicial magistrate after completion of legal formalities.

Police surgeon recognises discrepancies

On Wednesday, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed raised 14 objections to the post-mortem examination conducted on July 29, saying the report contained multiple deficiencies and "raises more questions than answers".

In a letter to the East senior superintendent of police, Dr Syed said the body had not been X-rayed, hand swabs had not been collected for gunshot residue analysis, and no chemical examination had been conducted on gunpowder marks around the bullet entry wound.

She added that the skull and neck had not been internally examined, the firearm injuries had neither been scientifically measured nor photographed, and the report failed to document the bullet's trajectory or provide a scientific description of the entry and exit wounds.

Dr Syed also noted that the body's state of decomposition had not been adequately documented and that no DNA sample had been collected despite the deceased not having been positively identified. She said an explanation had been sought from the medico-legal officer. Police have yet to determine whether the case is one of murder or suicide.