Naqeebullah murder case: ATC rejects bail pleas of two policemen

• ATC rejects bail pleas of two policemen involved in the murder case of Waziristan native, Naqeebullah Mehsud.
• Former SSP Rao Anwar, along with other policemen involved in the case, appears before the court for the hearing. 
• Court adjourns further hearing of the case till March 17, 2021; asks prosecutors to produce more witnesses.

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday rejected the bail pleas of two policemen involved in the murder case of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud. 

According to Geo News, former senior superintendent of police (SSP), Rao Anwar, along with other policemen involved in the case, appeared before the court for the hearing. 

The bail pleas of two policemen, identified as Faisal and Anaar, were rejected by the ATC.

For the hearing, the prosecutor presented three witnesses in the court who confirmed the phone numbers of Rao Anwar, Shoaib Shooter, and Amanullah Marwat.

According to the prosecutor, the three policemen had contacted each other via the identified phone numbers when the incident had occurred.

The court has adjourned further hearing of the case till March 17, 2021, and has directed the prosecutors to present more witnesses in the next hearing of the case.

Naqeebullah's brother says Sindh government paving way for Rao Anwar's acquittal

In January, Naqeebullah's brother had alleged that the Sindh government was trying to get former Malir SSP Rao Anwar acquitted by turning witnesses against Anwar hostile.

The brother, Alam Sher, said this while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on the death anniversary of his brother. His attorney Jibran Nasir and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Saifur Rehman were with him.

Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old native of Waziristan, was among three others who were accused of being terrorists and killed on January 13, 2018, on the orders of then Malir SSP Rao Anwar, in what was later termed a fake encounter.

The former Malir SSP and around 20 of his subordinates have been charged with killing Naqeebullah and three other persons, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, in a fake encounter after dubbing them as ‘Taliban militants’.