ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday promised the protesting Mehsud tribesmen that he will help find the suspended Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar —wanted for the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi earlier in January.
The PTI chief said this while addressing a press conference outside the National Press Club in the federal capital, where members of the Mehsud tribe have been staging a protest sit-in to demand justice in the Naqeebullah killing case.
Anwar is wanted by the authorities for the extrajudicial killing of Mehsud, a 27-year-old native of Waziristan who was killed along with three others in a fake encounter in the port city’s Shah Latif Town on January 13.
“Rao Anwar has not only killed Naqeebullah, he has killed others too,” Khan alleged. “Be it Islamabad or elsewhere, I will find Rao Anwar with you,” he said while addressing the protesting tribesmen.
The PTI chief claimed that many other citizens were murdered in Karachi by the police force. He said, “I have always tried to raise my voice against oppression.”
“Your demands are justified, you are not alone, the entire country is with you,” he assured the protestors, while also criticising drone attacks in Waziristan. “The drone attacks are a violation of human rights,” he added.
Further, Imran stressed that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) merger should be accelerated. “I will make efforts to ensure the early merger of FATA with KP,” he said, adding that his party would soon start a movement for the cause.
He also said, “Ministers of this government are unaware of the problems being faced by the residents of the tribal areas.” He assured the citizens of the tribal areas that he would convey their demands to the army chief.
Earlier, a meeting conducted on Saturday by Additional Inspector General (AIG) Aftab Pathan concluded that no substantial progress had been made to ensure the arrest of the absconder Rao Anwar and his accomplices, but decided to continue raids with the aim to locate and arrest the absconder.
According to sources, a meeting was conducted to monitor the progress regarding the arrest of Anwar. Reports compiled by investigating teams have also been sent to Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for review. The members of the committee formed to arrest or locate the absconding police officer and his team were also in attendance, the sources added.
Following an analysis of the investigation conducted in connection with the case, as well as the reports from Islamabad team and a briefing from the KP team, it was decided that raids to search for Anwar and his accomplices were to be continued, the sources revealed, adding that the team also agreed to continue seeking technical assistance from the intelligence agencies.
Sources also noted that the team had opted to conduct an analysis of the investigation on a day-to-day basis in order to monitor the daily progress made in connection with the case.
