Home secretary told to explain why Rao Anwar’s house has been declared sub-jail

The Sindh High Court on Friday directed the home secretary to file comments on a petition against the home department’s notification that declared as sub-jail the house of main accused former SSP Rao Anwar in Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial murder case.

The petitioner, Mohammad Khan, submitted that Anwar and his subordinates had been booked for murdering his son Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, along with three other men in a fake police encounter in Shah Latif Town on January 13, and the trial is pending in an anti-terrorism court.

He charged that the mala fide and criminal character of Anwar was obvious from the fact that he defied the orders of the court and as per a police report he and his subordinate police officers had been accused of having engaged in 444 encounter killings over the last seven years.

He submitted that there was clear evidence that the former SPP was a thoroughly corrupt police officer who had acquired assets beyond his known means and had engaged in money laundering, a complaint of which had been sent to the National Accountability Bureau.

He said that in view of the involvement of Anwar in the terrorism case he had been suspended from his post and he could not be given any kind of concession under the law.

The petitioner’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, said that Anwar was arrested on orders of the Supreme Court on March 21 and after the completion of police remand he was sent to prison by the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism court on April 21.

He submitted that despite an order of the trial court for shifting the accused to prison, the home department issued a notification declaring the house of Anwar a sub-jail.

He said that the home department malafidely issued the impugned notification as Anwar was the only under trial prisoner of the anti-terrorism court, whose own house had been declared a sub-jail. He added that such favouritism and nepotism in favour of the accused was against the jail rules and criminal procedure.

The counsel further stated that the impugned notification failed to disclose any credible information regarding serious threats to the life of Anwar, and if there was any serious threat to the life of the accused why he had not been detained in some high-security detention centre, or why his security had not been increased in jail, like that of other high- profile terrorism prisoners.

He said that Anwar’s detention in the comfort of his own home declared a sub-jail was simply a continuation of the VVIP treatment being accorded to the alleged terrorist.

The court was requested to declare illegal the notification of the home department with regard o the confinement of terrorism accused at his own house by declaring it a sub-jail. The counsel for Anwar appeared before the court and claimed a copy of the petition.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh directed the home secretary to file comments on the petition and explain how many prisoners in the province were incarcerated at their houses by declaring them sub-jails, and adjourned hearing by June 20.

Naqeebullah’s father also sent a complaint against Rao Anwar to the National Accountability Bureau and submitted that his salary as SSP was Rs113,772 and despite such a salary he had travelled 74 times to Dubai since 2012. He said that it was incomprehensible for an officer with a maximum salary of Rs113,772 to be able to afford as many trips. “It is clear that the aforementioned trips have been financed through assets acquired beyond means and in order to launder money,” alleged the complaint filed to NAB.