Super Highway blocked in protest against extrajudicial killings

Mehsud tribe jirga demands judicial commission to investigate Naqeebullah’s death

KARACHI: The killing of 27-year-old Naseemullah Mehsud, alias Naqeebullah, in an alleged police encounter on January 13 in Shah Latif Town sparked protests in Karachi.

A large crowd of enraged protesters blocked the Super Highway for two hours after a Mehsud tribe jirga was held nearby that demanded a judicial commission to investigate the fake encounter.

Police resorted to teargasing to clear the Super Highway, causing the protesters to retaliate by pelting the law enforcers with stones. Seven people were reportedly injured in the incident, however, Sohrab Goth SHO Muhammad Shoaib claimed that no one was injured nor had anyone been arrested. The protesters also chanted slogans against Malir SSP Rao Anwar, a police officer often called an ‘encounter specialist’ who was allegedly behind the killing. Traffic from Karachi to the rest of the country came to a halt for two hours due to the protest.

The jirga also demanded an inquiry into the deaths of the many killed in ‘fake’ encounters by the Malir police chief. It demanded that the authorities take notice to stop extrajudicial killings of Pashtuns living in Malir by the police.



“Every street of Sohrab Goth and other areas in the jurisdiction of the Malir [police] are witness that he [is involved in] extrajudicial killings, which needs to be stopped now,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi division leader Saifur Rehman Khan told The Express Tribune.

According to Khan, a person like SSP Anwar should not be allowed to wear a police uniform. He accused him of being involved in the murders of hundreds of people. He maintained that at least 1,200 people have been affected due to extrajudicial killings in the area. Khan was of the view that whenever SSP Anwar takes anyone into custody, his subordinates place the blame on intelligence agencies.

A member of the Mehsud tribe, Azad Khan Mehsud, said Naqeebullah was taken into custody around 15 days ago from Chapal Garden near Sohrab Goth and was later killed in a fake encounter.  Azad said although Counter-Terrorism Department AIG Sanullah Abbasi, who is heading the inquiry, is a well reputed officer but they fear he may succumb to pressure.

He added that he is proud of being a Pakistani and, as a member of the Mehsud tribe, he can guarantee that Naqeebullah did not belong to any militant organisation. In fact, he wanted his son to join the Pakistan Army.



According to Azad, the future course of action and demands will be discussed by the grand jirga of Pashtuns and political parties. He said they will hold peaceful demonstrations if their demands are not accepted.

PTI Sindh President Dr Arif Alvi demanded that it is the right of every Pakistani to bring Naqeebullah’s killers to justice. He demanded the curbing of extrajudicial killings and said every suspect has the right to a fair trial and must be brought before courts.

According to him, SSP Anwar’s past is stained but whenever he is suspended because of his actions he gets posted again by the Sindh government.