Warrants out for two witnesses

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday issued bailable warrants of arrest for two witnesses in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case and ordered the police to present them in court on February 12.

The ATC-III issued warrants for police inspector Nasrullah and private witness Afsar, with orders to SSP Dr Rizwan, who supervised the investigation, to appear in person in the next hearing.

Since the beginning of the trial in March last year, the court has so far heard six witnesses. The father of the slain youth, Muhammad Khan, who had lodged the complainant, passed away recently.

Before his death, he had expressed his distrust in the judicial system and the authorities, as he had allegedly been receiving death threats for pursuing the case.

Twenty-three policemen, including former Malir SSP Rao Anwar, have been charged with the murder of Naseemullah Mehsud, alias 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.

Anwar had claimed that the 27-year-old was a terrorist and was killed with his accomplices during a shootout 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 Mehsud’s involvement in any terrorist activity, but observed that his social media profile portrayed him as a liberal and fun-loving young man with a penchant for modelling.