Daily Times

KARACHI: Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal said on Tuesday that the investigation committee probing the Naqeebullah killing case is going in the right direction.

Speaking to journalists after meeting police officials to ascertain the developments in the respective Naqeebullah, Intizar and Maqsood killing cases, he reiterated that the provincial government is not trying to save anyone and neither will it.

“Having a contact with someone doesn’t mean that we have given him a license to kill,” the home minister said, referring to reports of suspended SSP Anwar’s association with Pakistan People’s Party supremo Asif Ali Zardari. Siyal said that the government has not given permission to anyone to kill innocent persons.

The provincial home minister said that a legal process in the Naqeebullah case will be started after the registration of an FIR by the deceased’s family, which is expected today. “I will visit the families of Intizar and Maqsood today,” Siyal announced, referring to the two other victims of recent police ‘encounters’.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has summoned suspended Malir SSP Rao Anwar and senior officials of the Sindh government in the Naqeebullah killing case on January 27.

Hearing a separate case today, the Supreme Court Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar observed that they have heard reports that Anwar is not appearing before the inquiry committee.

The court then summoned Anwar, Sindh IG AD Khawaja and the provincial advocate general. Anwar’s name was also ordered to be placed on the ECL by the apex court. Earlier, the inquiry committee probing the case had recommended to the Interior Ministry the placement of Anwar’s name on ECL.

On January 19, the chief justice had taken a suo motu notice of the incident and summoned a report from the Sindh police chief in seven days.

Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Umar Ata Bandial will be part of the three-member bench that takes up the case.

Earlier, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) foiled suspended Malir SSP Rao Anwar’s attempt to leave the country from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

According to details, the security personnel nabbed him when he was trying to flee abroad via private airline s flight EK-653.

Published in Daily Times, January 24^th 2018.