Police recovered more than a kilogram of drugs, including crystal methamphetamine — commonly known as ice — and cocaine, during a raid on a Karachi bungalow linked to Azad Jakhrani, the brother of PPP MNA Aijaz Jakhrani.
The raid has triggered a political storm, with the MNA publicly distancing himself from his brother while accusing police of misconduct during the operation.
How the raid unfolded
According to police, the operation followed information provided by a suspect arrested with cocaine and ice. The suspect allegedly identified Azad Jakhrani as the owner of the drugs and claimed additional supplies were stored at his bungalow.
Acting on the tip, police raided the property and recovered the narcotics. Azad was not present during the operation and could not be arrested. A case has been registered against him under narcotics legislation. The allegations have not been proven in court.
MNA distances himself, questions the raid
Responding to the raid, Aijaz Jakhrani said he had already disassociated himself from his brother. He stressed, however, that the property was their family home, and accused police of violating the household’s privacy during the operation.
The PPP lawmaker said he had informed Sindh’s home minister and the inspector general of police, demanding an investigation into the raid and action against those responsible for any misconduct.
His response sets up an unusual situation: a sitting MNA both disowning the accused and challenging the police over how they conducted the raid.
Sindh Assembly takes notice
The case has now reached the provincial legislature. Faryal Talpur, chairperson of the Sindh Assembly’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs, took notice of the operation at the Jakhrani residence and sought a report from the provincial police chief.
The committee’s intervention means the raid — and the MNA’s allegations of police misconduct — will face formal legislative scrutiny alongside the criminal investigation. For a drug case touching a lawmaker’s family, that layer of oversight matters: it puts the police’s conduct under the same spotlight as the accused’s alleged crimes.
What happens next
Azad Jakhrani remains at large, with a narcotics case registered against him. The outcome now depends on two parallel tracks: the criminal investigation into the drug seizure, and the oversight proceedings triggered by the MNA’s complaint and the standing committee’s notice.
The case will test whether the narcotics investigation leads to a conviction — and whether the promised scrutiny of the raid itself produces answers about how it was conducted.
The Karachi bust is the latest in a string of major narcotics seizures this year. The Pakistan Navy’s PNS Yarmook alone seized narcotics worth $96 million in two Arabian Sea operations, underscoring how entrenched trafficking networks have become across the country. (Read our earlier report: PNS Yarmook seizes $96 million in narcotics in two Arabian Sea operations.)
What makes this case different is the political dimension. Drug seizures are routine in Karachi, but when the accused is the brother of a sitting MNA — and a former health minister’s sibling — the investigation plays out under unusual public scrutiny. The standing committee’s notice ensures the police’s own conduct gets examined too, not just the drugs they found.
