Mir Raza Ali: No concrete evidence yet, CPLC tells commission

KARACHI: The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) on Wednesday told Judicial Commission investigating the Mir Raza Ali case that no concrete evidence found yet.

This was stated by the CPLC representative Kashif Iftikhar before the Mir Raza Ali judicial commission.

At the start of the probe, Justice Omar Sial asked how the CPLC had become involved in the case. CPLC representative Kashif Iftikhar explained that the organisation was established to serve as a bridge between the police and the public.

The CPLC assistant chief said the Mir Raza Ali case had initially been reported to the organisation as a missing-person case.

Justice Omar Sial questioned whether the CPLC had encountered anything suspicious during its investigation. Kashif Iftikhar responded that no such suspicious activity had been identified and that geofencing data had been obtained from the police.

“We have not found anything concrete on which we can take a position,” Kashif Iftikhar said.

The CPLC assistant chief told the commission that Mir Raza Ali’s mobile phone remained switched on until 4:25pm. He added that letters had been sent to Apple and other companies seeking information, but no response had been received so far.

Lawyer Jibran Nasir questioned whether the CCTV footage had been edited by the police or was originally recorded by them.

Kashif Iftikhar said the CPLC also had neighbourhood cameras installed in the area. He said the organisation had around 46 neighbourhood cameras, but footage from only three to four cameras was available for review.

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The CPLC representative said evidence was collected from locations where it could be obtained, but most individuals did not have backup footage available. He added that the quality of footage from some cameras was also poor.

Kashif Iftikhar said the CPLC had worked on call detail records (CDRs) and other data in connection with the case but had not yet reached any concrete conclusion.

The commission asked whether geofencing had also been conducted as part of the investigation. Kashif Iftikhar said geofencing had begun on July 28 and 29.

Justice Sial asked whether records would be available if someone had contacted another person through WhatsApp. The CPLC assistant chief said internet-based calls do not generate conventional call records.

He explained that the geofencing pattern varies from case to case and said no suspicious activity had been recorded in the geofencing data in this case.

The commission also asked whether any number had been identified that showed unusually frequent communication with Mir Raza.

The CPLC representative said no such number had been identified.