• Justice Sial questions transfer of DG health before conclusion of commission’s proceedings
• Notes Dr Shaikh deposed medical board formed to exhume Mir Raza’s body was changed on instructions of special secretary health

KARACHI: The Mir Raza Judicial Commission on Tuesday expressed surprise over the Sindh government’s decision to transfer the director general of health services, Dr Pervez Ahmed Shaikh, soon after he testified before it.

The commission head, Justice Omar Sial of the Sindh High Court, noted that DG Health Services Shaikh had testified before the commission on Monday and named Special Secretary Health Sheharyar Memon as the person who issued instructions to change the medical board formed to exhume the body of Mir Raza.

Justice Sial addressed the focal person for the Sindh government, who was present during the proceedings, and said Dr Shaikh had been removed from the post and Mr Memon had taken over as DG Health on the day the former appeared before the commission and recorded his statement. He said even the authorities concerned had not waited for the commission to conclude its proceedings.

The commission head added that there might be no mala fide intention behind the change, but the public had witnessed that the director general was removed while he was testifying before the commission.

Also on Tuesday, Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed appeared before the commission and filed an application, stating that Medico-Legal Officer Dr Osama Sheikh, who had conducted the first autopsy, was allegedly defaming her and spreading negative propaganda against her.

A police officer, ASP Nida Junaid, also recorded her statement before the commission and deposed that SSP Samiullah Soomro, head of the first investigation team, had verbally asked her to interview female witnesses.

Justice Sial asked the ASP why Ali Shaaz had approached her in connection with the present case. She replied that ASP Shahzeb had called her from Lahore and asked her to meet Shaaz, who is his younger brother and also a good friend of victim Mir Raza.

She said Shaaz had visited her office on Aug 6 as he was looking to voluntarily provide assistance in the case. She said she made it clear that she had nothing to do with the case and advised him to meet the investigating officer.

The commission confronted her again, saying that despite not being part of the investigation team, she still thought it appropriate to obtain an audio note/voice message of victim Raza and Shaaz.

She replied that she thought it could be evidence and had sent the same to SSP Soomro, adding that she had gone abroad for training on Aug 14 and returned on Sept 1.

Justice Sial observed that she had nothing to do with the case, yet an ASP from Lahore called her to meet his brother and such a sensitive audio recording was obtained unlawfully and sent to the SSP.

The commission also noted whether the ASP was deliberately facilitating the creation of a narrative, as the issue of debt originated from the audio and an officer from another province was giving her instructions.

The counsel for the Mir Raza family, Jibran Nasir, informed the commission that screenshots of Shaaz’s conversation in the audio had also gone viral on social media.

When Justice Sial asked her whether she had also sent those screenshots, she said she did not remember. The commission noted that this meant she had sent them and warned the ASP that she was taking the commission too lightly and that her career was at stake.

It also said that the ASP was following the case very closely and asked for her opinion on whether she considered it a case of murder or suicide. The police officer said the investigation was still ongoing and she was not part of it, whereas to her knowledge the first investigation had not reached any conclusion as it was only collecting evidence when the investigation was transferred to another team.

The commission also asked her under what authority she was participating in every meeting, including the one held at the office of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) along with the investigation team, despite not being part of it.

She replied that DIG Amir Farooqui, who is heading the current investigation team, had instructed her to go to the NCCIA.

She replied in the negative when the commission asked whether anyone had given her orders or put pressure on her to tamper with evidence or take the investigation in a particular direction.

Two more witnesses, Abid Farooq and his brother Asif Farooq, also recorded their statements.

They said they made two investments of Rs7 million each with victim Raza and his business partner Ahmed Bhardey. However, they said that there was no written agreement in this regard, but a WhatsApp chat was available regarding such investments.

They also stated that they had also invested around Rs15m in the business of Mir Raza’s father on the victim’s request. They further informed the commission that the deceased had not told them about any financial problems while their share of profit had decreased from April.

They also disputed various information contained in their statements recorded by the police and said that they were unaware as to why police had made additions to such testimonies.

Faiz-ur-Rehman testified that he was running a coffee shop and business of Chinese food and he had provided Rs200,000 to Mir in June 2025 and later the victim had returned the same.

He has also disowned various information regarding loans of victim in his statement recorded by the police.

The commission also recorded the statement of Sarim Bin Tahir through video link since he was out of the country. He deposed that though he had met Mir Raza on several occasions and discussed the issues related to investments, he did not invest in his business.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026