Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would extend full cooperation to the tribal people to build maximum pressure for the arrest of absconder Rao Anwar who is not only involved in the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud but also dozens of other innocent persons in staged police encounters in Karachi, party’s chairman said on Sunday.

“It is really pathetic that the man in uniform is still at large despite strict directives by the Supreme Court to nab him,” Imran Khan told thousands of charged protesters at ‘Naqeeb Shaheed Camp’ in Islamabad, with the protest entering fifth day.

Thousands of tribesmen have gathered in the federal capital, vowing to continue their sit-in till the arrest of former SSP Rao Anwar who is accused of killing Naqeebullah Mehsud, a man from Waziristan, in Karachi in a staged police encounter on January 13.

The strength of the demonstrators camped in Islamabad is gaining momentum by each passing day, with leaders and heads of different political parties delivering speeches to express solidarity with the protesters.

“It is really a dilemma that the very person supposed to protect citizens of the land is involved in extrajudicial killings of the innocent people,” he rued. Before the tragic killing of Naqeeb, Rao Anwar was blamed for picking up common businessmen for ransom, he noted.

Imran said he had visited all the tribal regions, adding that people of FATA had rendered matchless sacrifices for the sake of their motherland but since last decade they were being treated like aliens. He recalled that he offered stout resistance even on the floor of the Lower House that army should not be moved to either Waziristan or FATA. “I even opposed to join the war on terror on someone else’s behest,” he recalled. “My political opponent called me Taliban Khan when I opposed sending army to tribal areas initially,” he said.

The PTI chief went on to say that he had led a march to Waziristan against the drone strike in which innocent people had been killed. “Tribal families faced unprecedented hardships because on one hand they had to leave their hometowns and on the other they faced problems when they moved to other districts as temporary displaced persons (TDPs),” he added.

Imran said that he fully supported the demands of the protesters such as the arrest of Rao Anwar and clearing the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from Waziristan and tribal region.

Earlier, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Siraj-ul-Haq while addressing the protesters said that tribesmen had fought even in Kashmir while they had matchless sacrifices for the sake of their country. He warned that the government should arrest Rao Anwar otherwise his party along with tribesmen would launch countrywide protests against the injustices meted out to Naqeeb’s family and the tribal people.

Referring to Indian media’s recently launched ‘vicious campaign’, the JI chief warned that the tribal people would fight with same zeal India’s nefarious designs the way they fought against Indian army in Kashmir. “Remember … we will fight any conspiracy hatched by India and will protect our homeland with our blood. But on the other hand, I warn the government to arrest Rao Anwar and produce him before court without any further delay,” he remarked.

Hamed Mir, a journalist, while addressing the protesters said the government in Centre and Sindh should adopt all measures to detain Rao Anwar who was most likely still hiding somewhere inside the country. He said that another absconder – former dictator Pervez Musharraf – was equally responsible for bringing chaos and mayhem to the country and that he should also be brought to the country to face charges. “Naqeeb Shaheed has now become voice of the voiceless throughout the country. I am sure the blood of Naqeeb will tighten noose against criminals who are behind the killing of innocent people in extrajudicial killing,” he told the gathering.

Published in Daily Times, February 5^th 2018.