Mir Raza commission summons first IO

The Judicial Commission probing the Mir Raza Ali case has summoned the first investigating officer (IO), Shabbir Laghari, to appear before it as the panel recorded statements of several witnesses during its September 15 proceedings.

The commission, headed by Justice Umar Sial, issued its written order on Wednesday, detailing the proceedings and other developments in the case.

According to the order, statements of Inspector Muhammad Ali, Shahryar Ali, Asad Ali Butt and Head Constable Zeeshan Haider were recorded, while the statement of Hassan Tanoli, who is in Australia, was recorded via video link.

Ahmed Hassan told the commission that the list of investors recovered from Mir Raza's smart watch contained the name Ahmed Usman. He said Ahmed and Usman were two separate individuals and added that he had also invested in Mir Raza's business.

The registrar will inform Ahmed Hassan about the date of the next hearing, the order said.

The commission also directed that government employee Usman Bozai be served notice in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

According to the written order, counsel for the family, Advocate Jibran Nasir, submitted a record relating to a call received by Mir Raza's father. Nasir said the caller had introduced himself as a senior government official.

The audio recording, according to the counsel, indicated that the caller expressed support for SHO Adil Afzal. The commission observed that other portions of the conversation were not considered appropriate for inclusion in the order.

The commission warned SHO Afzal over what it described as campaigning in his support.

Daily diary records from Ferozabad and Gulistan-e-Jauhar police stations were also submitted before the commission. The presiding judge noted that the SHOs of both police stations had already recorded their statements.