KARACHI: A sessions court has granted interim pre-arrest bail to a man said to be a “business partner” of Mir Raza Ali, owner of eatery Wafflix, who had gone missing on July 28 after leaving his home in PECHS, Block-2 and his bullet-riddled body was found a day later.

The body was dumped in bushes opposite the University of Karachi near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Muhammad Ahmed Bhardey filed an application before the additional district and sessions judge (East) through his counsel, Khalid Mumtaz, seeking pre-arrest bail in the alleged murder case.

After a preliminary hearing, the court granted interim bail to Ahmed against a surety of Rs100,000 and issued notices to the investigating officer and the prosecution for Aug 15, for confirmation or otherwise.

Speaking to Dawn, Advocate Mumtaz said the applicant was Raza’s childhood friend and they had been running the business together. He added that Ahmed looked after their branch at Five Star Chowrangi, while Mir Raza managed the Bahadurabad branch.

He said Ahmed had approached the court for bail as the police were allegedly harassing him. He added that his client was ready to join the investigation and cooperate with the prosecution.

Advocate Mumtaz claimed that Ahmed had already appeared before the police whenever the concerned SHO, SSP or any other official summoned him to record his statement.

DSP Lashari to investigate case

The investigation team formed by the Sindh IGP and led by DIG Crime & Investigation Amir Farooqi continued its investigation into the kidnapping-cum-murder case of Raza, officials said.

DIG Farooqi told Dawn on Thursday that DSP Siraj Lashari had been assigned to investigate the case. He said the team interrogated first responders to the crime scene and also visited the crime scene in detail.

Moreover, the team had interviewed the family in detail and recorded their statement.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2026