Naqeebullah Mehsud’s father demands arrest of Rao Anwar’s associates

KARACHI: The family of late Naqeebullah Mehsud has demanded the Sindh provincial government to arrest the associates of suspended Malir SSP Rao Anwar.

Anwar is accused of the extrajudicial murder case of Naqeebullah and three others, who were allegedly killed on his orders in a fake police encounter in Karachi on January 13.

The former SSP, after absconding in the case since late January, was arrested on the orders of a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Justice Saqib Nisar when he finally appeared in court on March 21.

Naqeebullah's father, senior members of Mehsud tribe, and family members of 'missing persons' participated in the protest outside the Karachi Press Club on Sunday.

The protesters demanded from the authorities to recover the 'missing persons' and present them before the court of law, calling for "an end to unnecessary arrests".

They demanded transparent investigations into 'fake shootouts' conducted by law enforcement authorities.

Participants of the protest alleged that the Sindh government and certain institutions were trying to influence the Naqeebullah case investigations, which they said should be stopped.

The participants also called for an end to the transfers and postings of associates of Anwar in Karachi's Malir district.

On April 6, Rao Anwar filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s March 21 judgment ordering constitution of a five-member Joint Investigation Team under Sindh Additional Inspector General Aftab Pathan.

The review petition seeks removal of Aftab as JIT head and inclusion of intelligence agencies officials under the Article 19 of the anti-terrorism act as the suspended cop alleged that the team under AIG Pathan is not taking into account the documents being provided by him in his defence.

Anwar had raised the same objection over the JIT composition during the Supreme Court hearing as he expressed a lack of faith in the Sindh Police and pleaded to include officials of the ISI and Intelligence Bureau. 

Anwar is being held at the Malir Cantt police station amid tight security. The court has allowed his 30-day remand (until April 21) of the suspect on request of the investigation officer.