Rao Anwar retires from police service

Anwar was known as an encounter specialist in the Sindh Police

The prime suspect in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case, Rao Anwar has retired from service on Tuesday, Express News reported.

Rao Anwar was enlisted as a clerk initially back in 1981. A year later he was enlisted in the Sindh Police as an assistant sub inspector (ASI) police. He then went on to become a senior officer in the police. He served the police department for 37 years, and was currently suspended after being involved in Naqeebullah’s murder.



Rao Anwar was known as an encounter specialist in Sindh Police, he was involved in a number of police encounters in which various suspects were killed. However, the transparency of the encounters has always remained doubtful.

Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, was killed in what the police initially termed an encounter with suspected terrorists in January, earlier this year. The victim’s family members had subsequently rejected the police’s claims that he was a member of the Pakistan Taliban, saying he was an innocent aspiring male model. A joint investigation team (JIT) had later found that the four had been falsely implicated, with the court later ruling that Mehsud had no extremist tendencies.

Two FIRs were filed against former Malir SSP Rao Anwar – one by the police and the other by Mehsud’s father – for falsely implicating Mehsud.



An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi granted bail to Anwar on July 20, in the case against him for filing a fake first information report (FIR) against Mehsud. The FIR had implicated Mehsud and others for possession of explosives and illegal weapons.

This is the second case in which Anwar was granted bail. Earlier, on July 10, the tainted cop had been granted bail in the case concerning the extrajudicial killing of Mehsud and three others in Karachi.