Sindh Govt finally suspends absconding Rao Anwar

Naimat Khan

KARACHI: The Sindh Government suspended Mr. Anwar Ahmed Khan aka Rao Anwar, a police officer notorious for fake encounters of innocent people, here on Tuesday.

“With approval of the Chief Minister Sindh, the Services of the Anwar Ahmed Khan, former SSP District Malir and Mr. Muhammad Altaf Sarwar Malik, former Sp Investigation-II, East Zone, are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect”, reads a notification issued by Rizwan Memon, Chief Secretary Sindh.

According to notification the suspended official will draw pay and allowances, during the period of their suspension, as admissible under the rules.

Two days earlier Supreme Court of Pakistan gave three-day deadline to police for arresting absconding Rao Anwar, who, the police committee had declared a killer of innocent Naqeeb Mehsud.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Faisal Arab was hearing suo moto case regarding the extra-judicial murder of Naqeeb Mehsud here at the apex court’s Karachi registry.

Chief Justice remarked that Naqeeb Mehsud was our son and son of the entire Pakistan.

“Rao Anwar had to be produced in the court in any way, what efforts have you made for arresting him,” CJ asked IGP Sindh. IG Submitted that efforts have been made to arrest him after the FIR was lodged and when he was in Islamabad no FIR was lodged by then, which was legal requirement for his arrest.

Chief Justice asked if Rao Anwar was hiding in place where IG had no access.  Hasn’t any one given shelter to Rao Anwar in Karachi and that place is not accessible for you. CJ asked AD Khowaja as up to when the absconding cop could be arrested? To this IGP replied that no definite time can be given.  Chief Justice ordered IG Sindh to arrest Rao Anwar in three days and produce before the court.

Father of the Naqeeb Ullah, Muhammad Khan, also appeared before the court and urged upon the judges to do justice with him.

Naqeebullah’s father, who had also appeared in court, expressed his lack of trust in Sindh police and asked the court to form a judicial commission to investigate his son’s extra-judicial killing.

However, the CJP assured him that the court trusted the Sindh police and urged him to allow the joint investigation team and the police to continue with their investigation.

“A judicial commission cannot conduct a criminal investigation,” Justice Nisar explained to Naqeebullah’s father.

Justice Nisar asked Khowaja if he was under any political pressure, to which the IGP replied in the negative. The CJP told him to work “freely” and vowed that the court will not let “honest officers fail”.

In order to expedite the process, Sindh IGP AD Khwaja earlier wrote a letter to intelligence agencies, seeking their help in arresting Anwar.

The letter to intelligence agencies read that Rao Anwar reached Islamabad through a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on the morning of January 20 and that he attempted to flee to Dubai from Islamabad airport on January 23, but was barred by FIA Immigration officials.

The Sindh Home Department also wrote letters to the administrations of all four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in light of the pending arrest of Anwar and his team.

Police expedited action against Anwar after the Supreme Court took suo motu notice on the killing of Naqeebullah. The young man was killed in a police encounter in Karachi where Anwar was said to be present.