Naqeebullah murder: Former SSP Rao Anwar claims being 'wrongfully maligned'

Sindh police earlier suspended Anwar on the recommendation of the inquiry panel

Former SSP Malir Rao Anwar, under fire for the alleged extrajudicial killing of youth Naseemullah alias Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi, has said that he was being wrongfully maligned as opposed to the facts.

"Instead of ascertaining facts, an inquiry is being run against me and not against the SHO who was involved in the encounter," Express News quoted the former SSP as saying on Sunday.

Earlier today, Sindh Police suspended Anwar, on the recommendation of the inquiry panel, for his alleged involvement in the ‘extrajudicial killing. The panel also asked the government to place the policeman’s name on the exit control list (ECL).

Anwar went on to add that he doesn't have confidence in the head of the inquiry committee additional inspector general Sanaullah Abbasi and Sultan Khawaja as, according to him, they were not ascertaining the facts.

"I was not allowed to appear before the inquiry committee despite the fact that I tried to establish contact with the DIG East's office," he added.



Naqeebullah, 27, was reportedly picked up by police personnel in civvies from a tea shop at Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area on January 3. Later, the police killed him along with three others after declaring him an operative of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Ex-SSP Anwar had claimed that Naqeeb also had links with other militant organisations. However, his murder whipped up a storm, with certain quarters accusing the police official of the young man’s extrajudicial murderer.

Anwar, also called an ‘encounter specialist’, had been working as SSP Malir for the last few years and was said to have killed around 250 alleged terrorists in dozens of encounters.

Official sources in the Sindh government said that Anwar was close to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership and had always preferred to remain in Karachi’s Malir district.

During his stay in Malir, courts had served him many contempt notices for not appearing before them and a few inquiries were also initiated against him, but interestingly nothing was proved against him.