The Sindh government has restored the original eight-member medical board tasked with exhuming the body of IBA graduate and businessman Mir Raza Ali, clearing the way for the procedure to take place at today at 11 am.
The decision came late on Friday after Raza’s family and their lawyer objected to the abrupt changes to the board, which had led to the postponement of the exhumation earlier in the day.
Sindh health secretary issued a notification restoring the board, with Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed continuing as its convener.
The board also includes Prof Dr Naseem Ahmed of Dow University of Health Sciences, Dr Farah Waseem of Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Amir Hassan Khan of the Citizens Police Liaison Committee, Additional Police Surgeon Dr Sirichand, Dr Kamran Khan and Dr Daniyal Mirza of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Dr Mohammed Yaseen of the police surgeon’s office.
The police surgeon subsequently informed the judicial magistrate and other board members that the exhumation would be conducted at the graveyard adjacent to Rehmania Masjid.
The revised board on Friday had retained Dr Syed as the convener but replaced other members with Prof Dr Zakiuddin, Prof Dr Kazi Akbar, Prof Dr Abid Hussain Chang and Hyderabad Police Surgeon Dr Waseem Khan.
Lawyer Jibran Nasir, on behalf of the family, had said they would not accept an exhumation conducted by the reconstituted board, questioning the qualifications and basis for its appointment.
In a letter to the police surgeon, he argued that the new board had no legal basis and conflicted with the judicial magistrate’s order authorising the exhumation.
The magistrate had approved the exhumation on Thursday following an application by Raza’s father Mir Hussain Ali and directed the police surgeon and Sindh health secretary to constitute a medical board.
Raza’s body was found in Gulistan-i-Jauhar last month, a day after he went missing on July 28.
The case drew renewed scrutiny after Dr Syed said in an interview on Tuesday that some post-mortem observations did not appear to correspond with available photographs.
