Plea for inquiry into Rao Anwar's assets withdrawn

Niaz Ahmed Khoso had sought inquiry into allegations that SSP Anwar had laundered over Rs85 billion

KARACHI: A former police officer, Niaz Ahmed Khoso withdrew on Friday his petition seeking an inquiry into allegations that former Malir SSP Rao Anwar had laundered over Rs85 billion and accumulated assets and properties beyond his known sources of income.

Headed by Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, a two-judge bench dismissed the plea, as the petitioner's lawyer did not press it for further hearing and passing any order.

Niaz, who had previously filed a petition regarding his son's kidnapping against his former colleague SSP Anwar which he had also taken back, did not press his present petition for inquiry into SSP Anwar's assets.



He had filed the present petition in April last year, alleging that SSP Anwar had accumulated ill-gotten money by grabbing state land through china-cutting, money laundering and purchasing assets in the name of family members.

The petitioner had named the interior ministry, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency, SSP Anwar and others as respondents.

The petitioner alleged that Anwar had laundered more than Rs85 billion from Pakistan to other countries with the help of police officials posted at the Karachi airport.

"Anwar has been going abroad frequently since May 29, 2012," Niaz said, adding that the respondent officer had travelled abroad 89 times without any official visit.



He said SSP Anwar had managed to remain posted in the airport and Malir areas in order to carry out his illegal activities.

In the plea, it was alleged that SSP Anwar had been showing his monthly income to be Rs70,000 as a taxpayer, but he actually owned property worth Rs500 million in Sector F-10/4 in Islamabad.

The court was pleaded to direct NAB to conduct an inquiry. It was also requested to call a report from the Sindh inspector-general about SSP Anwar's tenure in Malir.

Last week, a hearing on the plea was not held due to paucity of time, as the judges were pre-occupied with workload. Therefore, the hearing was put off till February 2.



When the matter was taken up for hearing on Friday, the petitioner's lawyer Abdul Majeed Khoso said that his client did not want to press the plea anymore. Therefore, the court was pleaded to allow him to withdraw it.

Granting his request, the bench dismissed the petition as not pressed by the lawyer for the petitioner for conducting further proceedings and passing any orders.