The Sindh Health Department on Friday announced the formation of a new medical board to oversee the exhumation and renewed medico-legal examination of businessman Mir Raza, following a court directive amid controversy over the previous panel’s composition.
This decision came after Mir Raza’s family refused to allow the exhumation to proceed under the recently reconstituted board, insisting that only the original medical panel assigned to the case was acceptable.
The Health Department’s notification states that the new board was established in compliance with orders from the Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate-XXI (East), Karachi, as well as subsequent departmental instructions related to the exhumation process.
The panel is responsible for supervising the exhumation of Mir Raza, son of Mir Hassan Ali Khan, who is buried in a graveyard adjacent to Rehmania Masjid on Tariq Road within the jurisdiction of Ferozabad police station. The procedure will be conducted under the supervision of the judicial magistrate.
The newly formed eight-member board is chaired by Professor Dr. Naseem Ahmed, Head of the Department of Pathology at Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, serving as the pathologist.
Other members include Dr. Farah Waseem, Assistant Professor and acting head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Sindh Medical College, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, as the forensic expert; Amir Hassan Khan, forensic identification expert from the CPLC’s Shanakht Project; Dr. Sirchand, additional police surgeon; Dr. Kamran Khan, medico-legal officer at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC); Dr. Daniyal Mirza, medico-legal officer at JPMC, responsible for documenting the case; Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, administrative in-charge of the Karachi Police Surgeon’s Office; and Dr. Summaiya Syed, police surgeon Karachi, who has been appointed convener of the board.
The notification also authorizes the board to include any additional experts if necessary. Copies of the order have been sent to the district and sessions judge, judicial magistrate, principals of Dow Medical College and Sindh Medical College, police surgeon, SSP East, relevant station house officers, and the investigation officer.
Earlier on Friday, the exhumation faced disruption when Mir Raza’s family opposed the changes made to the medical board. Represented by counsel Jibran Nasir, the family submitted an application to the magistrate at the graveyard, demanding that the exhumation be conducted only by the original medical board constituted for the case, rejecting the revised panel.
The exhumation was initially scheduled after the Sindh government formed a medical board to conduct a fresh medico-legal examination. The magistrate and board members had arrived at the graveyard, preparations were in place, and police had secured the area. However, the process was halted due to the family’s refusal to accept the reconstituted board.
Nasir stated to reporters that the family would not accept the new panel under any circumstances and had formally conveyed their objections to the magistrate. Additionally, Mir Raza’s father appealed to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for personal intervention in the matter.
The exhumation was ordered by a judicial magistrate after Mir Raza’s father filed a petition citing serious deficiencies in the original post-mortem examination, warranting a fresh forensic investigation. The prosecution did not oppose this request, leading to the magistrate’s approval.
The case attracted significant attention after Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed identified 14 major shortcomings in the initial post-mortem report. These included the absence of gunpowder residue analysis, missing X-rays, failure to internally examine the skull and neck, inadequate forensic photography, lack of DNA collection, and poor documentation of bullet entry and exit wounds and projectile trajectory.
However, the investigation team rejected these criticisms, asserting that Dr. Syed had not personally conducted the original autopsy and emphasizing that the final cause of death would only be confirmed after all legal and forensic procedures were completed.
With the issuance of the latest notification, authorities have once again reconstituted the medical board responsible for the exhumation. The timing of the renewed exhumation remains uncertain, as does whether the family will accept the newly appointed panel.
