The police teams assigned to arrest those nominated in the murder case of Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar, a blasphemy suspect, have failed to make any significant headway. An FIR was registered against 45 accused, including former DIG Mirpurkhas Javed Soonharo Jiskani, SSPs Mohammad Asad Chaudhry of Mirpurkhas and Asif Raza Baloch of Umerkot, and influential religious leader Pir Agha Umar Jan Sirhandi, among others, on charges of killing Dr. Kumbhar and inciting people to set his body ablaze.
The FIR was filed by Mohammad Ibrahim Kumbhar, Dr. Kumbhar's brother-in-law, at the Sindhri Police Station under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act, after Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar ordered the registration in response to the demands of Dr. Kumbhar's heirs.
Lanjar's order was based on an inquiry report prepared by four top police officials, who recommended stern actions against all those involved in the incident that led to the killing of the medical officer and the burning of his body after he was accused of posting blasphemous content on his Facebook account a few weeks prior in Umerkot district.
The alleged actions of Dr. Kumbhar sparked violent protests in various areas of Umerkot and other parts of the Mirpurkhas region. Meanwhile, civil society members staged a protest rally in Rajo Khanani town, Badin, against the police's alleged failure to arrest those named in the FIR. Leaders of the rally, including Safeer Nizamani, Irfan Chandio, and Babar Nizamani, demanded the arrest of the suspects involved in Dr. Kumbhar's murder.