NAQEEBULLAH KILLING CASE : SSP Rao Anwar appears before enquiry committee

KARACHI: SSP Rao Anwar appeared before an enquiry committee, headed by Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Sanaullah Abbasi, and produced the criminal record of the alleged terrorist Naqeebullah Mehsud who was killed in a police ‘encounter’ on January 13.

The enquiry committee also recorded Rao Anwar’s statement on Friday. Earlier, the investigation team visited the crime scene in Shah Latif Town and collected evidence from where the ‘encounter’ took place.

Abbasi also assured to adopt a multi-dimensional approach to the investigation. He also said that the team will further question Qari Ahsan, who is said to be Naqeebullah’s close associate.  Qari Ahsan, an alleged TTP member, had earlier denied having worked with Mehsud or known him after the accused SSP had claimed his connection with Qari Ahsan.

Earlier in the day, a huge sit-in was staged by different political, social activists and human rights organisations on Friday against the extrajudicial killing of Naqeeb Mehsood of Waziristan in Karachi’s Malir area.

A large number of people, including workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by PTI Sindh president Arif Alvi, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Imran Ismail, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, besides civil society members, and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and workers reached the Super Highway and staged a sit-in against the extrajudicial murder of Naqeeb Mahsood in an encounter by SSP Malir Rao Anwar.

The protesters burnt tyres on the Super Highway, suspending traffic for many hours. They chanted slogans against SSP Malir Rao Anwar demanding his immediate removal. The protesters also pelted passing vehicles with stones. The police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the protesters, which left two citizens injured.

Speaking to the protesters, PTI’s Arif Alvi said Rao Anwar killed Naqeebullah Mehsud in a “fake encounter”. He also charged the SSP Malir with killing many other men in ‘fake encounters’ in the past in Karachi. While demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident, Alvi said that PTI will continue to protest until Rao Anwar is removed from his post. He said that they did not believe in Sindh police’s inquiry committee either.

Expressing similar views, Haleem Adil Sheikh said that Rao Anwar presented the incident in a wrong way, adding that they also had a video clipping of the Ibrahim Hyderi school incident. He demanded to dole out justice to the victim’s family as soon as possible.