Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case adjourned till Feb 2020

An anti-terrorism court on Monday adjourned the hearing of the Naqeebullah murder case for one-and-a-half months because of the unavailability of the judge. The ATC-III will resume the case proceedings on February 3, 2020.

Twenty three policemen, including former Malir SSP Rao Anwar, have been charged with the murder of Naseemullah Mehsud, commonly known as Naqeebullah Mehsud, who along with three others, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, was killed in a fake encounter on the outskirts of the city on January 12, 2018.

Of the accused, Anwar, Qamar Ahmed, Muhammad Yaseen, Supurd Hussain and Khizar Hayat are on bail. Thirteen, including Allah Yar Kaka, Muhammad Iqbal, Arshad Ali, Ghulam Nazuk, Abdul Ali, Shafiq Ahmed, Shakeel, Muhammad Anar, Khair Muhammad, Faisal Mehmood, Ali Akbar, Raees Abbas Zaidi and Syed Imran Kazmi, are in custody, while seven, including Amanullah Marwat, Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib, Gada Hussain, Mohsin Abbas, Sadaqat Hussain Shah, Rana Shamim and Riaz, have been declared proclaimed offenders.

The court, since the beginning of the trial in March this year, has heard six witnesses so far. Naqeebullah’s father Muhammad Khan, who lodged the complaint, passed away recently. Before his death, he expressed his disappointment at the judicial system and authorities as he received death threats for pursuing the case.

Anwar had claimed that 27-year-old Naqeebullah was a terrorist who was killed with his accomplices during a shoot-out with law enforcers in the jurisdiction of the Shah Latif Town police station. Contrary to Anwar’s repeated claim, the investigation did not find any evidence of Naqeebullah’s involvement in any terrorist activity.