Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir has alleged that 25-year-old entrepreneur Mir Raza Ali was subjected to prolonged torture, including exposure to acid, during around 12 hours of captivity before his death.
Speaking at a press conference, Nasir said evidence being examined in the case indicated that Raza had been administered an anaesthetic substance intravenously, which he said could cause numbness and paralysis.
“He was with them for 12 hours. For 12 hours he was tortured,” Nasir said.
Nasir further alleged that acid was poured on Raza and said investigators were examining whether he had also been forced to ingest a corrosive substance.
He claimed Raza’s fingers had been burned with acid in an apparent attempt to prevent biometric identification and alleged that those responsible had taken deliberate steps to avoid surveillance cameras and destroy or conceal evidence.
“They knew how to avoid CCTV cameras, they knew how to remove evidence, they knew how to erase his identity,” Nasir said, describing the perpetrators as “very professional.”
Raza was allegedly abducted from PECHS, before his body was discovered in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Johar.
Police initially suspected that he had been tortured before being shot, while uncertainty in the early stages of the investigation centred on whether his death was a murder or suicide.
Findings from a subsequent post-mortem prompted authorities to treat the case as a murder investigation, strengthening the family’s contention that Raza had been killed.
The detailed circumstances of his captivity and the allegations concerning acid and anaesthetic use remain subject to forensic investigation, with authorities continuing to examine evidence in the case.