Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday took suo motu notice of the alleged extrajudicial murder of a youth, Naqeebullah Mehsud, in Karachi.

The CJP directed Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) to submit a report over the incident within seven days.

Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, hailing from South Waziristan and residing in Karachi since 2008, was reportedly aspiring to become a model. He was allegedly apprehended by police in Karachi on January 2, 2018, and was killed on January 17 in a controversial encounter besides three other suspects by a police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar in the Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of Karachi.

According to reports, no evidence so far has emerged about any crime being committed by him, notwithstanding police allegations specifically those made by SSP Anwar.

On Jan 18, the Sindh home minister had taken notice of Naqeebullah’s killing and ordered DIG police South to personally conduct an inquiry and submit the report.

A committee was also formed on the directives of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to investigate the ‘staged encounter’. Appearing before the committee on Friday, Rao Anawr submitted ‘evidence’ supporting his claim that Naqeebullah was a Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) militant. “He was 100 per cent a terrorist,” Anwar reiterated while speaking to the media after the meeting.

A statement reportedly issued by a spokesman of TTP’s South Waziristan chapter, however, has termed Rao Anwar’s claim as ‘baseless’, saying Naqeebullah had no links with the banned militant outfit.

Published in Daily Times, January 20^th 2018.