Judicial commission begins proceedings in Mir Raza Ali murder case, issues notices to parties

According to the commission's terms and conditions, the proceedings will be completed within 30 days

KARACHI:

A judicial commission constituted to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Mir Raza Ali began proceedings on Thursday and issued notices to the parties concerned.

The commission, headed by Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Umar Sial, issued notices to Ali’s family, his lawyer Jibran Nasir and the focal person appointed by the Sindh government.

Thursday marked the first day of proceedings by the judicial commission. According to the commission’s terms and conditions, the proceedings would be completed within 30 days.

The Sindh Home Department on Monday notified the formation of a judicial commission to probe the death of Mir Raza, with Justice Umar Sial appointed as its head following his nomination by the Sindh High Court (SHC) chief justice.

The commission has been constituted at the request of the provincial government, even as Mir Raza’s family has challenged the move before the SHC and sought a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe his murder.

According to the notification, issued under the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969, the commission has been assigned four key terms of reference (ToRs). It will determine the circumstances and motives surrounding Mir Raza’s death, assess whether the investigation has been impartial and examine whether any police officer or other official was negligent or involved in concealing evidence.

Sindh government again seeks SHC judicial commission

Sindh government has once again decided to request the chief justice of the SHC to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the murder of Mir Raza, the Sindh chief minister’s spokesperson said on Sunday.

Soon after the killing, the Sindh government had decided to constitute a judicial commission headed by an SHC judge to oversee a transparent and impartial investigation. It later deferred the formation of the commission after the victim’s family expressed confidence in a newly constituted police investigation team.

Read: Police piece together final hours, death of Mir Raza Ali

"The judicial commission will conduct an impartial and transparent investigation into the murder case and examine any shortcomings in the investigation, important aspects and evidence requiring further inquiry," the spokesperson said.

The statement added that the commission would also review the role of police, medico-legal officers and other relevant officials. It may recommend action if negligence, dereliction of duty, professional misconduct or tampering with evidence was established.

Family rejects judicial commission

Mir Raza's family rejected the Sindh government's decision on the formation of a judicial commission, saying it was neither consulted nor informed about the proposed judicial commission.

Raza's father, Mir Hassan, told The Express Tribune that he did not have confidence in the [government’s] move and would approach the SHC to seek the constitution of a JIT to probe his son's death.

In a video message uploaded to social media, Raza's sister said the family learnt of the decision through the media and had not been informed of the TOR or the grounds for constituting the commission.

Tomorrow Police is to submit investigation report before Magistrate. Before submission of Police Report why Sindh Govt announced judicial commission? Is it because they know the outcome of the police investigation & they disagree with it?

— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) August 23, 2026

The family’s legal counsel in the case also questioned the timing of the judicial commission, asking if the Sindh government knew the outcome of the police report scheduled for submission before the magistrate today and disagreed with it.

Forming judicial commission without informing family of #ShaheedMirRaza nor making TORs of inquiry public. Why other LEAs not engaged & JIT formed? Why criminal conduct of police officers not investigated? Tomorrow family will move High Court for JIT & oppose Judicial Commission. pic.twitter.com/9xZuaHhxu1

— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) August 23, 2026

He said the family would approach the SHC to form a JIT, adding that, “Forming a judicial commission without informing the family of Ali nor making the TOR of the inquiry public. Why other LEAs not engaged & JIT formed? Why criminal conduct of police officers not investigated? Tomorrow, the family will move the high court for a JIT & oppose judicial commission.”

The case

Mir Raza, 25, was allegedly kidnapped from PECHS before his body was found in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Johar on July 29. The case had initially been surrounded by uncertainty over whether he had been murdered or died by suicide.

However, the findings of the second post-mortem consolidated his family’s longstanding claim that he had been murdered. The police probe is facing constant scrutiny by the public because of earlier lapses that were also admitted by the Sindh Police chief.