News Analysis |
Family of Muhammad Ishaq, who was one of the three other people killed with Naqeebullah in a controversial police encounter on 13th January, approached the police for the registration of a murder case against SSP Rao Anwar and his team for killing Ishaq in an alleged fake encounter. Ishaq’s family reached Karachi on Tuesday and submitted an application at the District SSP Malir office.
In the application, Ishaq’s family mentioned that Ishaq was a madrassa teacher in his home town Bahawalpur for the past 16 years. He was picked up by the police from his madrassa on 11th November 2016 and he had been missing since then. The family said that the incident came to their notice when they saw the news about a fake encounter in Karachi and reached the city so they could take Ishaq’s body for burial.
They suspect that the reason for protecting him might be personal gains. Some police officers might be fearing that if Anwar is arrested, he might reveal secrets about them that could land them into trouble so they might have given him a safe passage.
Ishaq’s family joined the Pashtun Qaumi Grand Jigra which has continued its protest against Naqeebullah’s killing for the 11th consecutive day. Speaking to the media, Ishaq’s brother Yousuf explained that his brother was innocent as the police inquiry committee declared the encounter as an act of extrajudicial killings. He demanded that a case should be registered against Rao Anwar.
Read more: Rao Anwar’s name placed on Exit Control List
The family of another man, Muhammad Sabir, who was killed with Naqeebullah and Ishaq has announced to launch a case against the former SSP Anwar and his team. Sabir and Ishaq were the residents of village Lang in Uch Sharif area of Bahawalpur and both were picked up by the police 15 months ago. Their families while talking to the media claimed that Sabir and Ishaq were not involved in any criminal activities and they were picked up without any reason.
Media experts are speculating that some officers inside the police might be involved in protecting and hiding former SSP Anwar. They questioned the abilities of the Sindh police that failed to capture such a high profile suspect even after notices by the Supreme Court.
Former SSP Malir Rao Anwar is still at large and the three day deadline for his capture set by the Supreme Court on Saturday is over. The Sindh police with the help of the Islamabad police raided a house in Sector F-10/4 of Islamabad in search of Anwar but no clue was found. The Sindh police have not given another deadline for the capture of Anwar and his whereabouts are still unknown. Media sources suspect that Anwar has already left the country.
Read more: SC begins Naqeebullah murder hearing
Naqeebullah Mehsud, whose real name was Naseemullah, was a 27 year old from South Waziristan. He was murdered in a police encounter on 13th January in Shah Latif Town, Karachi. The police raid which killed Naqeebullah was headed by former SSP Malir Rao Anwar. Naqeebullah was a model on Facebook so his extrajudicial killing created a huge outrage on social media, which brought the case to the mainstream media. The SC later took a suo moto notice of the killing.
They lamented that even though everyone is equal before the eyes of the law that has not been the case in Pakistan where police expend all their resources on high profile cases while thousands of victims.
Civil Society experts have condemned the police for their inaction and inability to capture the prime suspect Rao Anwar. They have criticized the apathy of the police for their dilatory tactics against the culprits unless the cases are reported on social media. Human rights activists have accused the police of only hearing the pleas of victims when they scale a huge protest otherwise their cries land on deaf years.
Read more: Innocent Naqeebullah killed in fake encounter: Inquiry Report
Human rights activists have also condemned the media for failing to give any coverage to the other three victims who were killed in the encounter with Naqeebullah. They lamented that even though everyone is equal before the eyes of the law that has not been the case in Pakistan where police expend all their resources on high profile cases while thousands of victims await justice because they lack the influence and the resources to get the attention of the police.
Media experts are speculating that some officers inside the police might be involved in protecting and hiding former SSP Anwar. They suspect that the reason for protecting him might be personal gains. Some police officers might be fearing that if Anwar is arrested, he might reveal secrets about them that could land them into trouble so they might have given him a safe passage. They questioned the abilities of the Sindh police that failed to capture such a high profile suspect even after notices by the Supreme Court.