ATC reserves order on Anwar’s plea seeking exemption from attending hearings

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday reserved the order on an application filed by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar seeking exemption from attending the hearings of the Naqeebullah murder case.

Anwar and 22 other retired and serving policemen are on trial for killing a 27-year-old man, Naseemullah Mehsud, alias Naqeebullah Mehsud, in a fake encounter and foisting bogus terrorism cases on him.

The former SSP, who is the prime suspect in the case, through his counsel had moved an application before the ATC-III judge seeking exemption from attending the hearings on security grounds.

Anwar’s lawyer Amir Mansoob Qureshi contended that the former SSP was a high profile target for terrorists because of his crackdowns against them during his tenure as a police officer. The lawyer argued that even the Supreme Court had passed directions to provide his client foolproof security.

The complainant’s lawyer, Salahuddin Panhwar, opposed the application arguing that neither was Anwar serving as a police officer anywhere which could second his claim of security threats nor was the application maintainable under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

After listening to the arguments from both the sides, the judge reserved the order on the application until today (Thursday). Meanwhile, the judge adjourned the hearing of the case till May 3, directing Naqeebullah’s father Khan Muhammad to appear again to record his testimony.

According to the prosecution, Naqeebullah was killed along with three other men, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, in a fake encounter in Shah Latif Town on January 13, 2018.

Twenty-three policemen have been booked over the murder of Naqeeubullah. Five of these, Anwar Ahmed Khan, alias Rao Anwar, Qamar Ahmed Shaikh, Muhammad Yaseen, Supurd Hussain and Khizar Hayat are on bail, while 13 cops, Allah Yar Kaka, Muhammad Iqbal, Arshad Ali, Ghulam Nazuk, Abdul Ali, Shafiq Ahmed, Shakeel, Muhammad Anar, Khair Muhammad, Faisal Mehmood, Ali Akbar, Raees and Syed Imran Kazmi, are in custody.

Seven suspects, Amanullah Marwat, Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib, Gada Hussain, Mohsin Abbas, Sadaqat Hussain Shah, Rana Shamim and Riaz, are absconders in the case.

Naqeebullah and his friends Hazrat Ali and Qasim were picked up by the police on January 4 last year from a teashop named Sher Agha Hotel on Abul Hassan Ispahani Road. They were kept in illegal confinement and badly tortured. Ali and Qasim were released two days later while Naqeeb was killed in a fake police encounter on January 13.

Anwar had claimed that the 27-year-old was a terrorist and was killed with his accomplices during a shoot-out with law enforcers within the limits of the Shah Latif Town police station.