Witness tells ATC he saw police picking up Naqeebullah from hotel on Ispahani Road

A prosecution witness on Thursday recorded his statement before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the Naqeebullah murder case. However he failed to identify the accused present in the courtroom.

Twenty-three policemen, including former Malir SSP Rao Anwar, have been charged with the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud, whose real name was Naseemullah Mehsud, who along with three others, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, was killed in a fake encounter in the outskirts of the city on January 13, 2018.

The witness, whose name has been withheld to protect identity, said that on January 4, he was sitting at the Sher Agha Hotel on Abul Hassan Ispahani Road when some police vans arrived and picked up Naqeebullah and his two friends, who were later released.

The ATC judge asked the witness to identify the accused policemen present in the courtroom if they were the one in the police vans to which he replied that he did not see them on the location.

The court after recording the statement of the witness adjourned the hearing till March 11, directing the investigation officer to present the next witness on the next hearing.

Of the accused, Anwar, Qamar Ahmed, Muhammad Yaseen, Supurd Hussain and Khizar Hayat are on bail while 13, 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 jail in judicial custody.

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

Anwar had claimed that the 27-year-old was a terrorist and 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 Naqeeb’s involvement in a terrorist activity but observed that Naqeebullah’s social media profile portrayed him as a liberal and fun-loving young man with a penchant for modelling.

The ATC began the trial in March, 2019. Father of the slain youth, Muhammad Khan, who lodged the complaint against police has passed away. Before his death, he had expressed his distrust in the judicial system and the authorities for he was receiving death threats against pursuing the case.