UK sanctions ex-SSP Rao Anwar, imposes travel ban, assets freeze

The United Kingdom (UK) government on Friday slapped sanctions on former Pakistan police officer Rao Anwar and frozen his assets under its Sanctions Act.

The former cop, who retired as a Senior Superintendent of police, was named in the sanctions list of the UK government, which released today.

Anwar, while in his role as the Malir SSP, was reportedly “responsible for numerous staged police encounters in which individuals were killed by police, and was directly involved in over 190 police encounters that resulted in the deaths of over 400 people, including the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud in 2018, reads the government’s website.

Former SSP, also known as “encounter specialist”, is therefore “responsible for, or complicit in, the serious violations of the right to life,” it added.

He was suspended from the duty after the killing of 27-year-old Mehsud and four others at a farmhouse in Karachi’s Shah Latif Town on January 13, 2018.

Later, Anwar was arrested along with DSP Qamar Ahmed Sheikh and 13 others. He was released on bail on July 10, 2018.

The encounter and the approval of Anwar’s bail resulted in protests and widespread criticism of the country’s justice system.

The United States also sanctioned Anwar in December 2019 for his involvement in “serious human rights abuse” in Pakistan.