Rao Anwar poised for release as ATC grants him bail in illegal weapons’ possession case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday granted bail to former Malir SSP Rao Anwar in an illegal weapons possession case, clearing the way for the release of the disgraced policeman who is the main accused in the extrajudicial murder of South Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud.

Anwar is alleged to have killed Naqeeb and three others in a fake encounter this January, and then registering a false case against the deceased men claiming illegal weapons and explosives were found from their possession.

In the wake of mass protests across the country following the extrajudicial murders and a subsequent joint investigation team report, the police registered cases against Rao and his accomplices. Apart from being named main accused in the murder case, Rao was also booked under charges of possession of illegal weapons and explosives – the same weapons that were used by Anwar and his team to implicate Naqeeb and the other three deceased in the fake case.

The ATC hearing the illegal weapons case had reserved its verdict on Anwar’s bail plea on January 17. On Friday, it announced its decision to accept the bail plea and directed the accused to submit a surety bond of Rs1 million.

Since the same court granted Anwar bail in the Naqeebullah murder case earlier last week for a Rs1 million surety bond, its Friday decision has paved the way for his release orders as soon as the bonds are submitted.

The trial court has yet to announce its ruling on the bail plea of former DSP Qamar Ahmed and other companions of Anwar in the same explosive material and illegal weapons case. It has reserved the ruling till July 25.

Murder case history

Anwar, along with 11 of his subordinates, is facing trial before the ATC for murdering Naqeeb, an aspiring model from South Waziristan, and three others – Muhammad Ishaque, Muhammad Sabir and Nazar Jan – in a staged encounter on January 13 in Malir.

As many as 12 other accused cops are still at large in the case. Anwar is also facing a case for registering a fake FIR against Mehsud and the other deceased.

He was arrested on the Supreme Court’s orders on March 21 when he finally appeared in the apex court in Islamabad after being on the run since January, and later shifted to Karachi.

Special treatment

Naqeeb’s father has consistently expressed a lack of confidence in the ATC judge hearing the murder case, while his counsels have claimed repeatedly that the controversial police officer is being given special treatment as he did not spend a single day behind bars following his arrest. His residence located in Malir was declared as sub-jail instead.

The family of the deceased has also lamented that Anwar was never handcuffed at the times that he was produced in court for hearings.

According to Naqeeb’s father, despite him filing an application, the judge did not take notice of the protocol the accused policeman was being given and also did not announce a decision on a plea they had filed regarding threats to case witnesses.