ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court began hearing suo motu case of theextrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud at its Karachi Registry today.A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice SaqibNisar and comprising Justice Gulzar and Justice Faisal Arab heard the case,after the apex court took notice of the killing earlier this week.
Naqeebullah, a 27-year-old native of Waziristan, was among four suspectedterrorists killed in an ‘exchange of fire’ with a police team led by thethen-Malir SSP Rao Anwar on January 13 in Shah Latif Town, Karachi.
Following claims of innocence from Naqeebullah’s family, an inquirycommittee was formed, after which Anwar and the raiding police partyofficials went into hiding. Anwar and his associates were also suspended bythe government and an FIR was registered against them owing to theirno-show and alleged involvement in the case.
During the hearing today, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar inquired from InspectorGeneral of Police Sindh AD Khawaja why Anwar had not appeared before thebench and what attempts had been made to arrest him.
To this, AD Khawaja replied that every attempt had been made to locate andarrest the suspended official but he had absconded.
Expressing his annoyance, the CJP remarked that Anwar should have beenproduced before the bench under any circumstance.
“Tell us, has Rao Anwar fled the country? Is somebody hiding him inKarachi?” the CJP questioned.
AD Khawaja responded that it was possible Anwar had fled abroad, butnothing could be said for certain yet.
The CJP then instructed AD Khawaja to work on the case with freedom,without taking any external pressure.
The Supreme Court had taken notice of Anwar’s reported attempt to leave thecountry earlier this week, after which his name was placed on the ExitControl List.
However, after AD Khawaja’s reservations today that the absconding policeofficial may indeed have fled the country, Chief Justice Saqib Nisardirected the Interior Ministry and Civil Aviation Authority to submittravel details of Anwar’s suspected escape from Pakistan.
The CJP also summoned affidavits from all owners of private chartered jets,and instructed IG Sindh to ensure Anwar’s arrest within three days.
Naqeebullah’s father demands judicial commission
Naqeebullah’s father Mohammad Khan appeared before the apex court benchtoday and demanded that a judicial commission be formed to probe his son’sextrajudicial murder.
Earlier today, notables from the Pakhtun Qaumi Jirga gathered outside theSupreme Court Karachi Registry and protested against Naqeebullah’s murder.They demanded that a judicial inquiry be conducted in the case.
The bench under Chief Justice Saqib Nisar will also hear other importantcases at the Karachi Registry today, including china-cutting on amenityplots, sea and industrial pollution, unfit drinking water, and admissionsin private medical colleges.
An inquiry committee, headed by Counter-Terrorism Department Additional IGSanaullah Abbasi, submitted its report on the case to the Supreme Court onFriday, which states that Naqeebullah was picked up from Sohrab Goth onJanuary 3 along with two others.
The two people picked up with him were let go after giving bribes, thereport states, adding that their statements have been recorded and madepart of the investigation.
The report states that 26 casings of sub-machine guns in use by the policewere recovered from the site of the ‘encounter’ and there was no evidenceof firing from the victims — alleged terrorists.
It adds that all the officials involved in the incident have gone intohiding.
Meanwhile, IG Sindh AD Khawaja on Friday constituted a new investigationcommittee in the Naqeebullah case.
According to a notification, the new committee has been formed underAdditional IG Aftab Pathan.
Other members of the committee include SSP Javed Riaz and SSP AdeelChandio, whereas Abid Qaimkhani has been appointed as the investigationofficer of the case.
The notification further said that the committee will carry out animpartial investigation of the case and lead it to its logical conclusion.