Rao Anwar ordered Naqeebullah’s disappearance, testifies witness

A prosecution witness testified before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday that Naqeebullah Mehsud had been picked up by the police, and that on the orders of then District Malir SSP Rao Anwar, he was disappeared.

Twenty-five policemen, including Anwar, have been charged with the murder of Naseemullah Mehsud, alias Naqeebullah Mehsud, who was killed in a fake encounter along with three others — Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq — on the outskirts of Karachi on January 13, 2018.

Anwar, Qamar Ahmed, Muhammad Yaseen, Supurd Hussain and Khizar Hayat are out on bail. 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.

Amanullah Marwat, Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib, Gada Hussain, Mohsin Abbas, Sadaqat Hussain Shah, Rana Shamim and Riaz have been declared proclaimed offenders and warrants for their arrests have been issued.

The witness told the court that after receiving information of Mehsud’s arrest, he and others went to the police station in Abbas Town, where they were told that Mehsud had been moved elsewhere on Anwar’s orders.

On January 13, added the witness, they were informed that Mehsud had been killed in an encounter. He said Mehsud’s body had been received by his cousin and his funeral prayers were offered in Sohrab Goth.

Anwar had claimed that 27-year-old Mehsud was a terrorist and he had been 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 claims, the investigation did not find any evidence of Mehsud’s involvement in terrorism, while it observed that Mehsud’s social media profile portrayed him as a liberal and fun-loving young man with a penchant for modelling.

The ATC had begun the trial in March 2019. Before Mehsud’s father Muhammad Khan, who had lodged the complaint against the police, passed away, he had expressed his distrust in the judicial system and the authorities, saying that he had been receiving death threats to stop pursuing the case.

Cross-examining the witness, Anwar’s defence attorney argued that the complainant did not have a son named Naqeebullah, and that why the witness had not lodged a complaint with the police against the alleged abduction.

After recording the testimony, the ATC asked the investigating officer about the two other witnesses who had been ordered to appear in the previous hearing. The IO sought condonation and submitted a statement on lining up two more witnesses in the next hearing.

Expressing displeasure over the non-compliance with the court’s previous order, the judge directed the IO to ensure the presence of the two witnesses in the September 10 hearing.