ATC indicts former SSP Rao Anwar in Naqeebullah murder case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) indicted on Monday former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case.

The former SSP has pleaded not guilty to the charges, local media reported. Summoning witnesses in the next hearing, the court has adjourned the case proceedings till April 11. Anwar has been facing a trial since last year murder case.

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

After absconding the court proceedings for almost two months, Anwar appeared before the ATC after which he was arrested and sent to jail. A Joint Investigation Team, formed on the directives of the Supreme Court, had found Anwar responsible for the extra-judicial murder of Mehsud. The investigation team also found that Anwar was present at the encounter site.

The former SSP has been out on bail since last year in July.