Rao Anwar surrenders, arrested on court order, being shifted to Karachi

Following his appearance before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, suspended SSP Rao Anwar was arrested outside the courtroom.

Anwar's counsel sought protective bail from the court but the chief justice dismissed the plea and gave orders for his arrest.

Chief Justice Saquib Nisar expressed dismay at Anwar's continuous failure to appear before the bench despite repeated summons and safety guarantees by the apex court.

Anwar was wanted in the murder case of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old native of Waziristan, who was among three others killed in an extra-judicial encounter on January 13, reportedly carried out on Anwar’s orders.

The Chief Justice ordered to constitute a Joint-Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the matter, which would consist of Sindh AIG Aftab Pathan as its head, while Zulfiqar Larak, Dr Rizwan, Azad Ahmed Khan and Waliullah as the probing unit’s other five members.

The Chief Justice Saquib Nisar also ordered to restore the former SSP’s frozen bank accounts, while he also lifted the contempt of court charges. Moreover, he ordered IG Sindh to provide Rao Anwar with foolproof security.

At the last hearing of the case on March 19, the chief justice, after a detailed briefing by relevant officials, had warned that anyone found facilitating Anwar's evasion from law enforcement agencies would be dealt with strictly.

Later, a police team shifted the suspended Malir SSP to the Benazir Bhutto International airport from where he would be transported to the port city of Karachi.
Victim's Father Hopeful

Victim's Father Hopeful

Haji Khan Mohammad, father of late Naqeebullah Mehsud stated that he was hopeful about getting justice in Naqeebullah murder case from the top court.

He was talking to media outside Supreme Court (SC) in Islamabad.

Haji Khan was grateful to the court over the arrest of Rao Anwar, whereas he expressed full confidence in the country’s top court.

“Twenty million people stood by us. The whole nation was is sad over the extra-judicial killing of Naqeeb. We are peaceful people and will follow the legal path [to pursue the case]. My son was the son of Pakistan”, stated the disgruntled father.