Naqeebullah’s family satisfied with inquiry’s findings

Inquiry committee submits final report to IG Khawaja

KARACHI: The Pashtun Qaumi Grand Jirga, formed over the killing of Naseemullah Mehsud alias Naqeebullah in an alleged encounter, has expressed its satisfaction with the inquiry committee, which found former District Malir SSP Rao Anwar and his team guilty of staging a fake encounter.

A delegation of Mehsud tribe leaders, headed by Rehmat Khan Mehsud, held a meeting with Inspector General of Police Allah Dino Khawaja on Thursday where they expressed their satisfaction on the performance of the three-member inquiry committee led by Counter-Terrorism Department Additional IG Sanaullah Abbasi. The team was constituted by IG Khawaja following claims by the victim's family that SSP Anwar and his team killed Naqeebullah in a fake encounter.

Zone South police chief DIG Azad Khan, who is also a member of the inquiry team, was also present during the meeting.

"The fair and transparent inquiry over Naqeebullah's killing in a fake encounter keeps our morale high," the tribal leaders told the meeting. "We are sure that it will not only be good for justice but also keep police morale high."

IG Khawaja assured them that the investigations would continue in a fair and transparent manner. "The police is busy day and night for the protection of citizens," the IG said. "Citizens are not the only ones duty bound to respect the law - it is the duty of the police as well." He said law-breakers would be dealt with.

Out with the old

On the other hand, in a bid to break the influence of SSP Anwar in District Malir, police authorities have removed 11 head muharrars, five head constables, one assistant sub-inspector and 12 police post incharges from District Malir and appointed new police personnel from other districts of Karachi as their replacements. The move is part of an ongoing crackdown against SSP Anwar’s team.



The transfer and postings were made on recommendation of newly-appointed District Malir police chief Adeel Chandio who replaced SSP Anwar.

SSP Anwar was considered the most powerful police officer in Karachi. He had 15 police stations under his command and almost all the police officials and personnel posted in Malir are reportedly there on his recommendation.

He and his team are currently on the run in a bid to avoid arrest in Naqeebullah’s murder case. SSP Anwar has already claimed that the committee has a bias against him. Earlier, three SPs - Iftikhar Lodhi, Chaudhry Saifullah and Dr Najeeb - two DSPs and 11 SHOs of District Malir were removed.

Police post incharges who have been removed included Riaz Ahmed Awan of the Naseerabad police post of the Bin Qasim police station, Akbar Ali Talpur of the Bhittai Colony police post of Ibrahim Hyderi, Muhammd Younus of the Khuldabad police post of Shah Latif, Muhammad Yasin of the New Sabzi Mandi police post of the SITE Super Highway police station and Sabo Khan Find of Gadap City.

The suspended head muharrars are ASI Noor Sultan of the Sukkhan police station, ASI Muhammad Ameen of the Quaidabad police station, ASI Rana Liaquat of thte Sohrab Goth police station, ASI Mian Muhammad of the Sacchal police station and  ASI Imadad Ali of the Memon Goth police station, while the head constables include Daniyal Pervez of Malir City police station, Danish Pervez of Sharafi Goth police station, Javed Iqbal of SITE Super Highway, Fakhar Cheema of Mobina Town police station and Umer Mallah of Gulshan-e-Maymar police station. One ASI, Rao Faisal, who is SSP Anwar’s nephew, was also removed.



Sources in the Sindh police expect more transfers in District Malir.

Final report

Meanwhile, the inquiry committee submitted its final report to the IG on Thursday. In the report, the committee declared that SSP Anwar and his team were indeed responsible for killing an abducted innocent man in a fake encounter.

SSP Anwar had, on January 13, claimed the killings of at least four suspected militants during an encounter in Shah Latif area. Based on the findings of the inquiry committee, in which SSP Anwar and his team were found guilty, the family registered a murder case against the cops. Since then, SSP Anwar and his team have been on the run while police investigators have yet to trace and arrest them.

Investigators have taken some shopkeepers of the scrap market in Sohrab Goth and a few policemen of the District Malir, including Abbas Town police post incharge Akbar Mallah who is believed to be involved in Naqeebullah’s abduction, and Hadayat Shar, police post incharge of Ahsanabad into custody for interrogation.