Commission questions ASP Nida over Mir Raza case

An inquiry commission probing the murder of Karachi businessman Mir Raza questioned Assistant Superintendent of Police Nida about her role in the investigation and her meeting with the victim’s fiancée, Minute Mirror reported.

Recording her statement before the commission, ASP Nida said the meeting with Ali Shaz, Mir Raza's fiancée, was routine and for investigation purposes. The commission asked why an ASP from another province was directing her to meet people connected to the case and giving her instructions, and whether such direction was routine or she had authority to interfere in an ongoing investigation. It observed that her involvement was raising questions about her role.

The commission objected that Nida had taken Ali Shaz to meet officials instead of sending him to the investigating officer to record his statement about an audio note. It remarked that Ferozabad police station was not the 'White House' and said she could have taken him to the relevant officers herself. Nida maintained that recording the witness's statement was the investigating team's responsibility.

The commission asked whether she was trying to cover up aspects of the case and how it could be certain she had not shared the audio with the media. She said Ali Shaz had sent only one voice note, but when asked whether she also forwarded screenshots, she said she did not remember. The commission responded that her answer suggested she had sent them, and warned that she appeared to be taking the proceedings too lightly and that her career was at stake.

The commission said the audio had become the starting point of a narrative surrounding a loan. Nida was asked whether she had ever contacted a person named Sarim, after the commission said it was aware Mir Raza had allegedly sent Sarim a message about Rs30 million. Nida said the investigation was still ongoing and it was not her case. The commission then asked whether a team headed by SSP Samiullah Soomro had been investigating the death as suicide or murder. Nida said that, to her knowledge, the team had not reached a final conclusion before the case was transferred to another team.

The commission also questioned Nida about her visit to Mir Raza's fiancée along with Arshad Afridi. Nida said she accompanied the team only to assist because she was a woman. She said SSP Soomro had given her three names: Shiza, whose number she later learned belonged to Mir Raza's mother; Maryam, whose number belonged to a man; and Amberin. Mir Raza's mother told the commission her official number had been allocated to someone at a bank under the name Shiza. Lawyer Jibran Nasir noted that Arshad Afridi was not part of the investigation team and separately called for a joint investigation team.