–CJP orders govt to freeze bank accounts and assets of police officer, tells ISI, IB and MI to help police in nabbing Anwar
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday issued a contempt of court notice to former SSP Malir Rao Anwar over his failure to appear in court in a case pertaining to the extrajudicial murder of Naqeebullah, a young man from South Waziristan.
Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge bench ordered the authorities concerned to freeze the absconding officer’s bank accounts and assets.
At the start of the hearing, the CJP asked Sindh police chief Allah Dino Khowaja whether or not Rao Anwar has arrived at the court. To which, he replied that the suspended police officer has not arrived yet.
CJP Nisar observed that Rao Anwar missed a good opportunity to surrender himself despite having been granted protective bail. He noted it was the duty of the IG Sindh to find the former SSP Malir and assured that the court was ready to extend any kind of cooperation for the purpose.
The court called for a short break so that Anwar could show up, but he didn’t appear. After issuing a contempt notice to Anwar, the court revoked his protective bail and ordered the ISI, MI and IB to assist in nabbing Anwar and submit a report in this regard in 15 days.
The court also directed the IGs of all provinces to provide protection to the witnesses in the case after Khawaja informed the bench of threats to witnesses.
Moreover, CJP Nisar revealed that the Sindh Inspector General of Police AD Khowaja informed the court that Anwar, via WhatsApp, had assured him that he would appear in court.
Speaking to the media outside the court after the hearing, Naqeebullah’s family and counsel said they are satisfied with the proceedings but lashed out at the government’s failure to nab Anwar.
Naqeeb’s father said his son was innocent and said: “We have come to the SC against the brutality of Rao Anwar. We want justice from the court and we hope we will get it.”
Earlier, the SC had given 10 days to the Sindh police to arrest the accused; however, no breakthrough was made with regards to his arrest, although some other police officials allegedly involved in the staged encounter have been arrested.
During the hearing Sindh Inspector General (IG) AD Khowaja on Tuesday had told the court that a committee had been constituted to find Anwar’s location. He had told the bench that the reports compiled by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in this regard have also been furnished.
Khawaja had told the court that the authorities had been handling the matter as a high-profile case, adding that the police was trying to trace the location of Anwar’s cell phone. With regards to tracing the suspended Malir SSP with the help of WhatsApp, the IGP had said that even IB was unable to trace him.
The CJP, however, had reprimanded the provincial police chief, pointing out that the “result of all these efforts was zero”. “Each and every time, we provide you time for the arrest of Anwar, but it seems that we ourselves have to arrest him,” the CJP had said, producing a letter in court which bore Anwar’s signature.
Quoting a letter written to him by Rao Anwar, the CJP had said that according to Anwar, he was innocent and was not present at the time of the encounter.
The SC had restrained the Sindh police from arresting former SSP Malir Rao Anwar facing charges of leading a fake encounter which resulted in the death of aspiring fashion model Naqeebullah Mehsud.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, who had heard a suo motu case regarding the extrajudicial murder of Naqeeb, directed the police not to arrest the suspended police officer. He had directed Anwar, who has been eluding the police since registration of a murder case against him, to appear before the court on next hearing on Friday.
The chief justice had ordered that the absconding police officer would be provided protection and a joint investigation team would be formed in line with his demands to probe the charges against him.