- Naqeebullah’s family holds demo outside Sindh High Court
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday heard a case filed by the family of the late Naqeebullah Mehsud challenging the provincial government’s decision to declare former Malir SSP Rao Anwar’s house a sub-jail.
Before the hearing, the family of the deceased demanded immediate arrest of suspect Shoaib ‘Shooter’ and his close aides in a protest held outside the court. Naqeebullah, a shopkeeper and an aspiring model from South Waziristan, was killed along with three others in a fake encounter by Anwar and his subordinates earlier this year.
During the hearing, Advocate Faisal Siddiqui pleaded that the decision to declare Rao Anwar’s residence a sub-jail was unconstitutional, adding that the suspect was demanding further facilities from the authorities despite living at his residence. He alleged that Anwar was harassing the witnesses of the case.
The SHC adjourned the case until June 29. At the previous hearing, Naqeebullah’s father Khan Muhammad told journalists that they have neither forgotten their son nor would they ever compromise on his murder. “If Rao Anwar is an influential person then I am also a hard worker,” he said.
At a hearing held earlier in May, an anti-terrorism court hearing the Naqeebullah murder case was informed by the provincial government that the Multan Lines in Malir Cantt had been designated as a sub-jail. Though the notification did not mention it explicitly that the location of the sub-jail is Anwar’s own residence in the Malir Cantt area.
As per the notification, the court ordered on April 21 that Anwar be shifted to the Central Prison in Karachi but due to ‘security’ issues, the Home Department directed the jail’s inspector-general to move the former police officer to the Malir Cantt. Outside the court, a large number of the tribal elders and general public participated in the demonstration, demanding the arrest of the fugitives.