SHC moved to form inquiry board to look into Rao Anwar’s encounters

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday issued notices to the chief secretary, the provincial police chief and others on a petition seeking constitution of an inquiry board to verify the authenticity of suspended Malir SSP Rao Anwar’s encounters and the alleged extrajudicial killings of more than 250 people.

Petitioner Muzammil Mumtaz Advocate submitted in the petition that from 1992 to January 15, 2018, Anwar had killed more than 250 people in alleged encounters and robbed their families. He said Anwar had remained posted in District Malir for the past decade and no action was taken with regard to the tenure of his posting in the district.

It is astonishing that Anwar has been suspended in the past on allegations of conducting fake encounters and has also faced disciplinary proceedings, added the petitioner. But, he said, after a short span of time he was again posted as the Malir SSP and in the meantime no police officer was appointed on the vacant post.

He claimed that Anwar, as the Malir SSP, exceeded his power and violated the constitution’s Article 4 (“Right of individuals to be dealt with in accordance with law, etc.”). He lamented that no action had so far been taken against him for his supposed role in the killing of more than 250 people in allegedly fake police encounters.

He requested that the court direct the provincial government to constitute an inquiry board in respect of suspected extrajudicial killings of more than 250 people in Anwar-led police encounters and take action against him and his accompanying officials.

The court, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the Sindh advocate general, the provincial police chief and others and told them to submit their comments on February 20.

Anwar was suspended following the alleged extrajudicial killing of labourer Naseemullah, alias Naqeeb Mehsud, in a supposed encounter by an Anwar-led police team declaring him an absconding Tehreek-e-Talban Pakistan operative.

Naseemullah’s death sparked public outrage and protest demonstrations by several civil society groups, leading to the Supreme Court taking suo motu notice over the incident. The top court’s proceedings would start this week.  

Anwar may be arrested

Investigation-II SSP Abid Qaimkhani said Anwar and his police team might be arrested if they failed to cooperate in the Naseemullah death case, added our correspondent. Qaimkhani, appointed the inquiry officer, told the media that Naseemullah’s death was a high-profile case and that each of the country’s citizens was watching their every move.

He said notices were posted to the houses of Anwar and his police team and they were informed through all modes of communication to appear before the inquiry committee, but neither he nor any member of his team had paid heed.

SSP Qaimkhani said he wanted to communicate to Anwar and his police team to appear before him to record their statements, otherwise strict departmental action would be taken against them.

He clarified that the houses of Anwar or any member of his police team were not raided, saying that only notices were sent to them. Anwar and his police team were told to appear before a panel of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) at the Central Police Office (CPO) to respond to the allegations levelled against them, but neither of them appeared at the scheduled meeting.

Later, a statement issued from the CPO said NCHR Director General Aftab Alam, Director Khizar Ali, Coordinator Razaur Rehman and Law Officer Mian Waqar Ahmed met the Sindh police chief at his office to review the inquiry committee’s progress.

The statement said the committee’s members – Counter Terrorism Department Sindh chief Additional IGP Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, East DIGP Sultan Ali Khawaja, the South DIGP, Headquarters DIGP Muneer Sheikh and Operations AIGP Tanveer Alam Odho were also present.

Anwar’s version

Talking to The News, Anwar claimed that he was told by the committee on his first appearance on Friday that the body would meet later in the evening at East DIGP Khawaja’s office. He said he made several attempts to contact the DIGP regarding the second sitting of the committee to share more information about the alleged criminal record of Naseemullah, but his calls remained unattended.

He claimed that the committee was bent on implicating him in the case, saying that two of the inquiry body’s members were biased against him. He added that neither he nor anyone on his police team would appear before biased investigators.

Anwar also claimed that he had neither picked up Naseemullah nor interrogated him, saying that he had already named the two policemen who might have detained and then killed him with three others.  

Khawaja rejects claim

East DIGP Khawaja said he had phoned Anwar late on Sunday night and told him to appear, along with his police team, before the inquiry committee at his office at 11am on Monday to record their statements.

Later, Khawaja told the media that the committee had found no criminal record of Naseemullah either at Karachi’s or at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s police stations. He said a case would be registered against anyone nominated by Naseemullah’s family.

In a later development, The News learnt that Naseemullah’s family members were done with consulting among themselves and had decided to file a murder complaint, including sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, against Anwar and his police team.

The family has demanded that a judicial commission be formed to investigate the alleged murder and announced that they would continue protesting until the judicial body was formed. Meanwhile, Malir SP Dr Najeeb Ahmed, Sohrab Goth SP Chaudhry Saifullah and Gadap SP Rao Iftikhar have been removed from their respective positions in connection with Naseemullah’s death.

KU rally for justice

Students of the Karachi University (KU) organised a protest rally at the campus on Monday against Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial killing in a fake encounter in Malir.

Members of the varsity’s student organisations and other students participated in the rally, which was organised in front of the central cafeteria at 10am. They condemned the cold-blooded murder of Mehsud, who was shot dead by a police team in Shah Latif Town on the night of January 13. They carried placards inscribed with demands for justice for the 27-year-old.

Salman Shah, a third-year student of General History, said Mehsud’s brutal killing raised many questions about the future of the Pakistani youth. After this incident, students in particular and youths in general felt unsafe, he remarked.

Shah said the Constitution of Pakistan allowed every citizen to move anywhere in the country, make property and do business. To encourage the youth, law enforcers should facilitate them in carrying out such activities.

He said Mehsud had been declared innocent in the initial inquiry report submitted to the Sindh police chief by the Counter Terrorism Department. He believed that the extrajudicial murder was the worst example of human rights’ violation in 2018 and this kind of murders must be stopped.

There was a judicial system and court procedure in the country, and if somebody was involved in any criminal activity, they must be prosecuted as per the state laws, he added. Latif ur Rahman, a final-year student of English Literature, said the students participated in the rally on a humanitarian basis.

The participants also demanded justice for other victims, including Zanaib, Intizar Ahmed and Muhammad Maqsood. Rahman pointed out that after Mehsud’s murder, thousands of students from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas who enrolled with the KU and other public and private sector varsities in Karachi were frightened.