Karachi Court Permits Exhumation of Mir Raza Ali's Body Amid Autopsy Controversy Following Legal Review.

A Karachi court licensed the exhumation of Mir Raza Ali, a 25‑year‑old Institute of Business Administration graduate, whose body was found last month with a gunshot wound to the chest in the bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan‑i‑Jauhar. The decision was issued after a 10‑page application filed by Ali’s father, Mir Hussain Ali Khan, highlighted alleged loopholes in the original medico‑legal report. In its order, the judge instructed the Karachi police surgeon and the Sindh health secretary to set up a medico‑legal board comprising senior forensic experts and pathologists. The board would conduct a comprehensive post‑mortem, X‑ray, DNA, forensic and chemical examination to determine the true cause of death. The court also directed the Ferozabad station house officer to coordinate with the investigating officer for the proceedings, a copy of the order is available with Dawn. The prosecutor had expressed no objection to the exhumation request, a fact noted by the court. During the hearing, counsel Jibran Nasir argued that police could not object to the exhumation and that the police surgeon and medico‑legal officer would perform the procedure. The judge said a notice must still be issued to the investigating officer and that, if the prosecution had no objection, the order could proceed. Police officials maintain that Ali had financial difficulties and was carrying a taxi that dropped him near the site of the body’s discovery. However, his family believes he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, while investigators continue to pursue a possible suicide explanation. The controversy was sparked when Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed told a private news channel that inconsistencies existed in the post‑mortem report. She noted mismatches in the reported entry and exit wounds and mentioned that gunshot residue had not been tested for. The police subsequently issued a statement warning that such observations could affect the ongoing investigation, but also affirmed that exhumation could be carried out with court permission and a medical board’s recommendation.