An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) was informed on Saturday that a key witness in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case had gone missing.

During the hearing today, the former Senior Superintendent of police (SSP) Rao Anwar, Deputy superintendent of police Qamar and others accused in the case appeared for the case proceedings. The investigation officer Dr Rizwan told the court that the key witnesses had gone missing, local media reported.

The officer told the court that Anwar and the other accused were  cruel and influential officers. The officer also requested the court to dismiss the bails granted to Anwar and others.

Naqeebullah a 27-year-old native of Waziristan was killed, along with three other suspected terrorists, on January 13, 2018 in an alleged encounter with a police team headed by Anwar. Anwar and his team had alleged that the victims were terrorists.

However, Naqeebullah’s family had claimed that the deceased was innocent and was killed in a ‘fake’ encounter. A Joint Investigation Team probing into the case had also found the former SSP responsible for the death of Mehsud and three others.