Former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and 17 others were indicted by an anti-terrorism court for the murder of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter in Karachi.
Anwar, the prime accused, along with former DSP Qamar and three others are out on bail. Rao Anwar who is said to have links with political leaders and influential elements in the establishment, was arrested in March last year after escaping the law for two months. But even after his arrest, he was not moved to the jail.
Instead, he was shifted to a house declared as sub-jail, on grounds of ‘security concerns’ and was later granted bail. Rao Anwar was involved in several fake encounters in Sindh. Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial murder prompted countrywide protests led by the Pashtun community.
Before that, Rao Anwar had not faced any investigations over the killings in the encounters led by him. According to police’s records, Anwar aka ‘encounter specialist’ killed at least 444 people between 2011 and 2019. During these 745 encounters, not a single policemen was killed or injured.
The protests erupted in the wake of Naqeebullah’s killings brought Rao Anwar’s crimes to the fore. Activists have demanded Rao Anwar be convicted and punished for extrajudicial killings to set a precedent against the illegal and unconstitutional practices.
Anwar, the prime accused, along with former DSP Qamar and three others are out on bail. Rao Anwar who is said to have links with political leaders and influential elements in the establishment, was arrested in March last year after escaping the law for two months. But even after his arrest, he was not moved to the jail.
Instead, he was shifted to a house declared as sub-jail, on grounds of ‘security concerns’ and was later granted bail. Rao Anwar was involved in several fake encounters in Sindh. Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial murder prompted countrywide protests led by the Pashtun community.
Before that, Rao Anwar had not faced any investigations over the killings in the encounters led by him. According to police’s records, Anwar aka ‘encounter specialist’ killed at least 444 people between 2011 and 2019. During these 745 encounters, not a single policemen was killed or injured.
The protests erupted in the wake of Naqeebullah’s killings brought Rao Anwar’s crimes to the fore. Activists have demanded Rao Anwar be convicted and punished for extrajudicial killings to set a precedent against the illegal and unconstitutional practices.