Mir Raza murder case: Minister says Sindh govt does not intend to 'impede' judicial commission's proceedings

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar on Thursday assured the judicial commission probing possible negligence in the Mir Raza Ali murder case that the provincial government did not intend to “impede” its proceedings, following the Sindh advocate general’s (AG) interruption during the previous hearing. On Tuesday, Sindh AG Jawad Dero interrupted the proceedings when he objected to the lawyer representing the victims’ family asking questions during police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed’s testimony. The commission then summoned Lanjar to clarify the government’s position. On Thursday, the home minister appeared before the commission and tendered an “unconditional apology over the misunderstanding”, he told the media after the hearing.

Lanjar said the Sindh government wanted the victim’s family to be provided justice and for the facts to emerge, terming the conclusion of the commission’s proceedings “necessary”. “I also said before the commission today that whoever is found involved in this will be punished,” the minister added. According to the commission’s order for Thursday’s hearing, Lanjar clarified that a misunderstanding had occurred at the previous hearing and “that it was not the government’s instruction that the commission be told how to run its proceedings, nor that any impediment be caused in answering the family’s questions”. Sindh High Court’s Justice Omar Sial, who heads the commission, noted that the minister assured the commission and the public of his government’s “uninterrupted, continuous and complete co-operation” in the proceedings. Jibran Nasir, the lawyer representing the Ali’s family, also requested the commission to place on record their appreciation for Lanjar’s clarification, the order said. “The controversy thus stands amicably resolved,” Justice…