Missing links: SHC seeks details of people killed in ‘fake encounters’

Public interest litigant Rana Faizul Hasan takes Malir SSP Rao Anwar to court

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the petitioner to submit details of the victims, who were allegedly killed in fake encounters engineered by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar.

A public interest litigant, Rana Faizul Hasan, had taken the Karachi police's senior superintendent to court.

According to him, SSP Anwar had more than 50 people killed in staged encounters within a period of six months.

"Some encounters continued for more than an hour, but surprisingly the cops remained unhurt from the firing," he stated.

The petitioner said that even if these persons were terrorists, the police were duty-bound to produce them in the courts of law.

The police officers had no right to pick up innocent people from different areas and kill them on Super Highway or Sohrab Goth and give them the colour of encounters, because it is the duty of the courts to award punishments.

Hasan argued that this was a violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens as well as Articles 4, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. He had pleaded the court conduct a hearing on this matter and pass appropriate orders.

Taking up the matter, the judges found that crucial information such as details of the people allegedly killed in fake encounters, were missing.

Adjourning the hearing, they directed the petitioner to submit such details by the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2015.