ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) declared on Wednesday that Rao Anwar, the high-profile absconding police officer in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case, had requested to unfreeze his detained accounts in a letter.
Mehsud, a 27-year-old native of Waziristan, was among three killed on January 13 on the orders of Malir SSP Rao Anwar, being accused of terrorism. Later it was determined as a fake encounter.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, had taken suo motu notice of the case. At a hearing on February 13, the court showed Rao’s first letter claiming innocence and demanding an impartial inquiry.
During today’s hearing, the bench noted that it was yet to be confirmed if the second letter was for sure from the suspended SSP. However, it was kept in the court record.
Justice Nisar said, “Isn’t Rao Anwar being protected by political powers”. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh AD Khawaja replied that he, as a responsible officer, could not confirm that.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial noted that someone was undoubtedly providing protection to all of the accused in the case.
CJ asked if the intelligence agencies were being cooperative with the police.
“Both the Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are cooperating with the Sindh police,” Khawaja told the court, adding that the case’s charge-sheet had been submitted and the First Information Report (FIR) had been cancelled.
Sindh IGP further added that Anwar was last seen in Bhera — a city in Punjab’s Sargodha District.
Lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, attorney of Mehsud’s family, affirmed that only 10 of the 24 accused had been arrested so far. IGP Khawaja, however, told the court that 12 accused persons in the case had been arrested.
“Questions are being raised on the state’s authority,” said Siddiqui, to which Chief Justice Nisar responded that it was a very important matter.
Khawaja declared that the police were making efforts to arrest the absconding suspects.
The chief justice then ordered the Sindh police chief to give the court an in-camera briefing on the next hearing regarding the CCTV footage of Anwar’s escape from the Islamabad airport.
Director General (DG) Airports Security Force (ASF) Major General Ali Abbas Haider has also been summoned at the next hearing, which will be held at the court’s Karachi registry on March 16.
“There is a possibility that some [breakthrough] information could be obtained from the CCTV video,” the chief justice remarked.
