Naqeeb’s family moves SHC for cancellation of Rao Anwar’s bail

The family of Naqeebullah Mehsud on Wednesday filed an application in the Sindh High Court, seeking the cancellation of bail granted to suspended police officer Rao Anwar in the 27-year-old’s extrajudicial killing case.

Mohammad Khan, father of the victim, submitted in the application that Anwar and his subordinates had been booked for murdering his son along with three other citizens in a fake police encounter on January 13 in Shah Latif Town, and the trial is pending before anti-terrorism court.

Khan’s counsel Faisal Siddiqui submitted in the application that Anwar had been a very influential officer and his power was evident from the fact that since his arrest in the case on March 21 he had been provided VVIP and discriminatory treatment and for not a single day was he confined to prison; rather, his house was declared a sub-jail.

He submitted that due to discriminatory and illegal favours being accorded to Anwar, the accused had been threatening the prosecution witnesses and one of the prosecution witnesses, Shahzada Jehangir, also retracted from his statement.

He remarked that the petitioner had expressed no confidence in the presiding officer of the anti-terrorism court and filed a petition in the SHC; however, despite pendency of the transfer application, the ATC judge still proceeded with the case in a hurried manner and granted bail to Anwar.

He submitted that trial court’s bail granting order was patently illegal and had been passed in violation of the principles of the grant of bail, thereby resulting in the miscarriage of justice. The court was requested to cancel the bail application of Anwar and remand him to judicial custody.