Sherpao criticizes police for its highhandedness

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday expressed concern over the disappearance of a key eyewitness in the Naqeebullah Mahsud murder case and asked the chief justice Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the incident.

In a statement issued from Watan Kor, he said that Supreme Court should cancel the bail of retired police officer Rao Anwaar as he could pressurise other eyewitnesses to make them retract their statements against him regarding his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing.   

“It seems that some forces are at work to weaken this case to deny justice to the bereaved family,” he feared.

Naqeebullah Mahsud, 27, hailing from South Waziristan was allegedly killed in a fake police encounter in Karachi last year. Rao Anwaar, the then Senior Superintendent of Police, had led the encounter.

Aftab Sherpao said that the Naqeebullah murder was a test case for the police as the incident had saddened all the Pakhtuns. He said that it would be very shocking and disappointing if justice was not provided to his family by punishing the accused.

He said that such incidents would deepen the sense of despondency among the Pakhtuns and alienate them from the state. 

Criticising the police for its highhandedness, he said had the perpetrators of the Naqeebullah murder case been punished, the death of Pakhtun political worker Arman Loni and the Sahiwal incident could have been averted.