Islamabad (January 22, 2018): National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights has summoned sacked SSP Malir Rao Anwar today (Monday) over Naqeebullah Mehsud’s alleged ‘encounter’ in Karachi.
Anwar was earlier called upon by DIG East but he neither replied nor appeared before him. The investigating committee also tried to contact Anwar but all in vain as he apparently seemed to have gone ‘underground’.
On the other hand, the committee probing Mehsud’s killing has decided to arrest Rao Anwar and all his accomplices after no evidence was found against Mehsud that proved his links to terrorism.
On the orders of acting AIG Karachi Dr Aftab Ahmed Pathan, Anwar’s 16 important right hands have been removed from their posts including SP Dr Najeeb, SP Iftikhar Lodhi and SP Saifullah, two DSPs and 11 SHOs.
The committee has also settled on registering a case against the encounter while nominating Anwar and all other police officials in the presence of Mehsud’s relatives. The probe will be led by SP Investigation Abid Qaimkhani.
It is pertinent to mention here that all the members of the encounter team have gone into hiding including Rao Anwar.
Mehsud, a 27-year-old hailing from South Waziristan, was gunned down on January 13 in Shah Latif Town by ‘encounter’ with a police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar, however; preliminary probe suggest that Mehsud was killed in cold blood and had no terror links.
His killing has sparked a social media outcry, as his family members reject claims by authorities that he was a member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban, saying he was an innocent aspiring male model.
Banned outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander, imprisoned in Karachi Central Jail, Qari Ahsan has said that he never heard of any operative named Naqeebullah Mehsud.
Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) Additional Inspector General (IG) Sanaullah Abbasi and East Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sultan Khawaja among four members of the probe committee recorded Qari Ahsan’s statement in Central Jail.
Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar had claimed that Naqeebullah Mehsud worked with Qari Ahsan.
Reportedly, Ahsan told the committee that neither he met the person nor ever heard his name. He said that he never saw Naqeeb in meetings of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
