Rao’s counsel refutes MNA’s statement about Naqeebullah

Claims Watan card was actually issued to a person named Naseemullah

KARACHI: The counsel for former Malir SSP Rao Anwar refuted on Thursday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Saifur Rehman's statement pertaining to Naqeebullah being a Watan card holder, claiming that the card was only issued to persons given clearance by the agencies and was in fact issued to another person named Naseeemullah, not Naqeebullah.

The PTI MNA, who is a witness in the case, however, maintained that Naqeebullah was issued the card, while giving his statement before an anti-terrorism court.

During the hearing at Central Jail, Karachi, Rehman informed ATC-3 that he had received a call late at night to inform him that the police had arrested Naqeebullah and his friends. "I, however, said that I will look into the matter the next day as it was too late," he said.

Rehman said he, along with Abdul Raheem and others, visited the police checkpost where he was told Naqeebullah was kept under arrest, explaining that he asked the checkpost in-charge, Ali Akbar, about the arrested men.

The MNA stated he assured Akbar that Naqeebullah was a "decent person who was arrested for no reason." Raheem also told him that Naqeebullah was issued a Watan card - cards issued in 2010 to help flood victims - and didn't have enough many to pay for bail. Akbar, however, told them that then-Malir SSP Rao Anwar had handed him over to agencies.

"We were told that that he would return if found innocent and if not, would be presented before a court," said Rehman, adding that they later found out he was killed in a fake police encounter on January 13, 2018.

According to Rehman, he, along with others, went to Edhi morgue in search of the body but was told that the body was kept at Chhipa morgue. When he visited the morgue the next day, he was informed that the deceased's left hadn was burnt, he added.

During cross-questioning by Akbar's counsel, the MNA maintained that he did not remember visiting the checkpost in the past. He further denied having ever met Akbar before this visit.

When the counsel asked him whether he knew about Akbar raiding his relatives' house, he denied knowledge of this too. He further said, "I did not know who was Naqeebullah [until then] and hadn't ever met him," adding that his friends had told him the arrested person's name was Naqeebullah.

Taking up the matter of Naqeebullah being a Watan card holder, Anwar's counsel Amir Mansoob said that the card was only issued to persons who had received clearance from agencies. Agreeing with Mansoob, Rehman maintained that Naqeebullah was in fact issued a Watan card. However, Mansoob claimed that the card was actually issued to a person named Naseemullah and not to Naqeebullah. "Naseemullah had been cleared by the agencies while they sought Naqeebullah," he stated.

Rehman, however, expressed ignorance of any such information.

Mansoob further asked Rehman whether his statement was recorded once or twice and if he was, in any way, involved in the body's examination. Rehman replied that his statement was recorded just once and he was not involved in the body's examination.

The counsel also pointed out that some of the details Rehman shared at the hearing were missing from his statement recorded on January 24, to which Rehman agreed.

Another witness, Shahzada Jahangir, was also presented before the court for his statement but the prosecution requested an extension, stating that further preparation was required.

Mansoob raised an objection to this, maintaining that Jahangir had attended all the last four hearings. "And he is still not prepared," he commented, claiming that the prosecution did not want the case to proceed further.

The court, however, accepted the prosecution's request, ordering that the witness to come prepared at the next hearing on March 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2020.