UK slaps travel ban, economic curbs on Rao Anwar

LONDON: Britain has slapped travel ban and economic sanctions on former Karachi SSP Rao Anwar Ahmed Khan and 64 other individuals and three entities for being involved in gross human rights abuses including torture and murder including the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in 2018.

Speaking to The News and Geo here, a spokesman of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which issued the list, confirmed that Rao Anwar Ahmad Khan, former senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Malir District, Karachi, has been sanctioned.

Rao Anwar has been added to the damning list by the British government on suspicions of being behind 190 staged police encounters that led to more than 400 deaths in Karachi. The Foreign Office said Anwar and former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, are facing sanctions for historic human rights violations including extrajudicial killings of protesters and minority groups. On the designated list, Rao Anwar appears at number 59.

The UK government explained that the former encounter specialist from Karachi has been imposed sanctions which include asset freeze and travel ban to the UK. The British government said Rao Anwar was involved in killings through staged encounters including the murder of Pashtoon model Naqeebullah Mehsud. It said: “Rao Anwar Khan is the former SSP of Malir District, Pakistan. In his role as SSP Malir, he was reportedly responsible for numerous staged police encounters in which individuals were killed by the police, and was directly involved in over 190 police encounters that resulted in the deaths of over 400 people, including the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud in 2018.”

These sanctions give the UK powers to stop those involved in serious human rights abuses and violations from entering the country, channeling money through UK banks, or profiting from economy.

The foreign office said sanctions, including travel ban and assets freeze, have been placed on 11 politicians, officials and others responsible for gross human rights violations in Russia, Venezuela, The Gambia and Pakistan.

The British government said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced sanctions on the International Human Rights Day to warn those who commit human rights violations that the UK will not hesitate to impose further sanctions. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that these sanctions send a clear message to human rights violators that the UK will hold them to account. “The UK and our allies are shining a light on the severe and systematic human rights violations perpetrated by those sanctioned today. Britain will stand up for democracy, human rights and the rule of law as a force for good in the world. Underlining the UK’s position as a global force for good, this regime showcases commitment to the rules-based international system and standing up for victims of human rights violations around the world.”

In Russia, the UK is imposing sanctions, including travel ban and assets freeze, against three individuals and the Terek Special Rapid Response Unit responsible for torture and other human rights violations against LGBT people in Chechnya. From Russia, the sanctioned persons include Magomed Daudov, the spokesperson of the parliament of the Chechen Republic; Aiub Kataev, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic of the Russian federation in Argun; Apti Alaudinov, deputy minister of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic and major general of the Police; Terek Special Rapid Response Unit; and from the Gambia, Yahya Abdul Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh, former president of The Gambia; Yankuba Badjie, former director general of the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Zineb Jammeh, former first lady of The Gambia and wife of Yahya Jammeh.

Several Saudi nationals have also been sanctioned for the unlawful killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. These include Fahad Shabib, member of the Royal Guard; Thaar Ghaleb; Mansour Osman; Naif Hassan; Abdulaziz Mohammed; Mustafa Mohammed; Waleed Abdullah; Salah Mohammed; and Dr Salah Mohammed Tubaigy. These men were part of the 15-man team sent to Turkey by Saudi authorities.