Who is behind Rao Anwar’s bid to escape?

The CCTV footage of former SSP Malir Rao Anwar escaping from Islamabad airport with the help of an “influential” officer was provided to Sindh Police almost a month ago. However, the concerned authorities are reluctant to approach the person identified in the video, sources said.

According to sources, the footage has been declared crucial for the arrest of the absconding police officer wanted in extrajudicial murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud.

Rao Anwar has been in hiding after the extra-judicial killing of Naqeebullah on January 13 – a native of Waziristan – ever since he tried to escape from Islamabad airport on the eve of 23rd January. Sources believe that the officer who provided “protocol” to Anwar must know about his present whereabouts too.

The police was given clear directives in this regard by the Supreme Court during the hearing held last week at the Karachi Registry, to which IGP Sindh AD Khawaja stated that the footage he received is unclear.

According to sources, the video footages from Karachi and Islamabad airports that show the officer accompanying Rao Anwar to the lounge of the airport was shared with Karachi Police on 16th February.

The said official helped Rao Anwar get his boarding pass from the international airline counter and for two hours struggled to make him receive immigration clearance. These attempts were made unsuccessful by Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) which later was rewarded for this by Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

However, despite the fact that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), FIA and ASF having access to the video recording, the officer is still on-duty and has access to every department of the airport.

Sources further revealed that the officer hasn’t been questioned about Anwar’s whereabouts, neither has he been asked as to “who” had instructed him to make Anwar escape.

They also added that the apex court hasn’t been provided with a clear picture of the situation due to which Anwar’s arrest is being unnecessarily delayed.

The sources have even expressed deep concerns regarding police making the CCTV footage deliberately unclear by providing the edited version, instead of the original one, to the apex court.

Sources said that the footage has not been used for investigation so far and not made public indicates mala fide intent.