Daily Times

Yesterday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) offered some undue relaxation to former Malir SSP Rao Anwar by accepting his bail application in the Naqeebullah Mehsud case.

As an officer of the law, Rao was given the responsibility of upholding it, and protecting people. Instead, he killed a man in cold blood, and tried to get away with it by calling him a terrorist. Soon after, demands for Rao’s arrest began picking up speed, but in true Dabang fashion Rao went into hiding, only to resurrect himself at the Supreme Court, from where he was promptly arrested.

The police officer parted with Rs. 1 million in the form of a surety bond in order to make bail – a bail he does not deserve. Two separate reports have concluded that Mehsud, a native of Waziristan, was killed in a fake encounter.

But what was the ATC thinking? It seems the same thing that it had been thinking when it decided to ensure that Rao was kept comfortable, even in captivity. Rao’s own home was turned into a sub-jail soon after he was arrested, and a request for “B” class facilities was also approved.

This was the murder that led to the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) becoming a force to be reckoned with. This was the murder that reminded people how little security they had, even within the comfort of their own homes.

As things stand, the case continues to proceed with the utmost drudgery. Officers in charge do not even show up to the court sessions. Perhaps Rao has nothing to worry about, since PTM leaders are also being picked up one after the other. The original storm that brought him down has seemingly fizzled out.

Following this “clean chit”, Rao promptly announced his satisfaction with the decision. Already, the former officer is peddling the narrative of someone who was almost martyred. He calls it a conspiracy, much like the one Murtaza Bhutto faced.

Rao’s theatrics aside, Mehsud is still dead, and evidently the courts have nothing to offer but more comfort to the perpetrator of the crime.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 11^th 2018.