Rao Anwar files bail plea in ATC

Rao Anwar filed on Saturday a bail petition in an anti-terrorism court, stating that the report by the Joint Investigation Team lacked consistency.

According to local media reports, the former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) has also claimed that he was not present at the encounter site, where Naqeebullah Mehsud was killed, and thus should be allowed to leave imprisonment. The ex-SSP is currently in jail for his involvement in the extra-judicial murder of Mehsud.

The ATC has sought a reply from the prosecution side and adjourned the hearing till May 14.

The JIT, formed by Supreme Court, had found Anwar responsible for the murder of Naqeebullah and had termed the act as ‘terrorism’. In their report, the JIT said that Anwar was present at the encounter site. The team also took Anwar to the ‘encounter’ site where he was unable to prove his innocence.

Naqeebullah a 27-year-old native of Waziristan was killed, along with three other suspected terrorists, on January 13 in an alleged encounter with a police team headed by Anwar. However, Naqeebullah’s family has claimed that the deceased was innocent and was killed in a ‘fake’ encounter.