KARACHI: An Anti-Terrorism court in Karachi indicted former SSP Malir Rao Anwar in Naqibullah murder case, however, the central suspect pleaded ‘not guilty’ before the court.
An ATC in the metropolis heard on the notorious case of Naqibullah Mehsud who was first abducted from Gul Sher Agha Hotel and then later eliminated by Polie force on directives of SSP at the time Rao Anwar.
On this occasion, all suspects including Rao Anwar appeared before the court.
The court indicted former SSP Malir and other offenders however the involved suspects denied the imposed charges.
To this, the court, adjourning hearing of the case, summoned all witnesses on April 11.
It is to be noted that 13 police officials were imprisoned on court’s remand. Whereas, seven suspects including the former SSP Rao Anwar, DSP Qamar and five others were released on bail.
Case Background
On January 13, 2018, SSP of Karachi’s Malir District at the time, Rao Anwar staged a fake encounter and killed a man named Naqeebullah Mehsud Karachi. This murder came before his abduction which was done on January 3.
Naqeebullah was kidnapped along with two of his friends, Hazrat Ali and Mohammed Qasim, by Rao Anwar’s men in plainclothes from Gul Sher Agha Hotel in Sohrab Goth, Karachi.
On January 6, both of his friends were freed by the police, but Naqeebullah was kept in captivity, tortured, and then killed on January 13. Reports revealed that he was shot twice in the back.
Alongside Naqeebullah, three other men namely Muhammad Sabir and Muhammad Ishaq from Bahawalpur and Nazar Jan Mahsud from South Waziristan were also killed by the police in the staged encounter.
The fake encounter sparked countrywide protests against extrajudicial killings in Pakistan.
Police alleged that they killed four suspected terrorists in a shootout. Rao Anwar claimed that Naqeebullah had links with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh). However, the claims were denounced by Naqeeb’s relatives.
An inquiry committee consisting of senior police officers was formed which declared the brutally murdered Naqeebullah innocent and also termed the carried out encounter as ‘fake’.
