Former Malir senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rao Anwar, who was known as an “encounter specialist” and has been booked for the alleged murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud, submitted a ‘letter of appreciation’ on behalf of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in an anti-terrorism court.
However, there are some red flags on the legitimacy of the document since, for apart from some grammatical inaccuracies, it is written in Comic Sans MS which is not used for official documentation. Secondly, the signatory authority on the letter, namely “Lieutenant Colone to Commander” is a position that doesn’t exist. Further, the alphabets at the end of all lines are also missing due to some possible ‘printing or photocopying errors’.
Activist Jibran Nasir shared a picture of the letter on his Twitter handle. He writes that “Rao can confirm its veracity for submitting fake documents in court is a crime”.
Moreover, he adds, the letter appreciates Rao for his “exceedingly good service” and “excellent job” in Sohrab Goth and Gadap Town.
“Letter of Appreciation” for #RaoAnwar by ISI submitted in ATC by Rao himself. I am sure he can confirm its veracity. Submitting fake documents in Court is a crime. The letter appreciates Rao for his “exceedingly good performance” and “excellent job” in Sohrab Goth/Gadap Town pic.twitter.com/3Hcyv0b3Cq
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) January 17, 2019
The letter notes: “This communiqué primarily means to acknowledge the exceedingly good performance of SP Rao Anwar in Counter Terrorism Field.”
“Sohrab Goth, in particular and Gadap Town, in general is infested with terrorists and extremists who have taken shelter here after fleeing from upcountry,” it further says, adding, “the area comprising Katchi Abadis and being extremely unfrequented always poses uphill challenges for police officials to operate and succeed. However, it is witnessed in the recent past that due to personal interest, call beyond duty of SP Rao Anwar, apprehension of numerous high value terrorist have materialized from the area in a professional manner.”
“Hencefore, the excellent job done with total commitment disregarding any self projection needs to be acknowledged,” the letter concluded.
Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old from South Waziristan, was murdered on January 13 last year in Shah Latif Town in an alleged ‘encounter’ with a police team headed by Rao Anwar after being missing for 10 days. He was accused of having links to militant groups but the accusations proved false upon trial.
Anwar retired from police service on January 1, 2019, after serving for 37 years in the Sindh Police Department. Recently, Supreme Court rejected his petition to have his name taken off the Exit Control List (ECL).