The Sindh cabinet on Tuesday decided to make public the report of the judicial commission that examined the investigation into the murder of Karachi businessman Mir Raza Ali, Dawn reported.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The report, presented in seven separate sealed envelopes, will be uploaded to the provincial home department’s website on Tuesday, and a copy will be given to the family, the chief minister’s spokesperson said.
The chief minister also formed a four-member sub-committee to oversee implementation of the report: Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Labour Minister Saeed Ghani and the Sindh advocate general.
“The government of Sindh remains committed to transparency, accountability and ensuring that due process of law is upheld,” Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on X.
The case
Mir Raza Ali, a 25-year-old Institute of Business Administration graduate who owned the dessert shop Wafflix, went missing on July 28 after leaving his home in PECHS. His body, with gunshot wounds, was found the next day in bushes in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.
- Suicide claim: police first built the case around suicide, based on the first autopsy, which showed a bullet entry wound in the chest, and pointing to business losses and borrowed money
- Second post-mortem: after exhumation, a board found the death “inconsistent” with suicide, unanimously concluding he died of a gunshot wound to the back; it also found multiple injuries before death and signs of internal bleeding, The Express Tribune reported
- Disputed findings: police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed had disputed the first post-mortem
The commission
The Sindh government formed the commission in August, amid allegations that the police had botched the investigation. Headed by Justice Omar Sial of the Sindh High Court, it examined 49 witnesses over 15 hearings and sent questionnaires to Karachi police chief Azad Khan and two senior officers, after rejecting the family’s request to summon them to testify. It handed its sealed report to the government on October 16.
Other decisions
The cabinet also approved changes to the Sindh Public Service Commission’s Combined Competitive Examination (CCE), Geo News reported:
- Age limit: raised from 30 to 33 years
- Attempts: increased from three to five
- Passing marks: cut from 40 percent to 33 percent for CCE 2026
- Testing: computerised testing for single-paper exams
It also approved a $150 million World Bank-supported programme to reform property tax. Under the Sindh Property Revenue Enhancement Programme, the government aims to raise property tax collection across Karachi’s 25 town municipal corporations from Rs2.3 billion to Rs25.5 billion. The World Bank’s board is expected to consider it on October 30.
Why it matters
The case raised serious questions about how Karachi police handled the death of a young businessman. Publishing the commission’s findings, and setting up a committee to act on them, puts that investigation under public scrutiny. Read our report on the Karachi road dispute between railway police and the KMC.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn, The Express Tribune and Geo News.
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