Rao Anwar’s acquittal: SHC seeks reply from Sindh govt

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday sought a reply from Prosecutor General of Sindh Faiz Shah on a petition challenging the acquittal of former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and his subordinates in the Naqeebullah murder case, ARY News reported.

Alam Sher, younger brother of Naqeebullah Mehsud, had challenged the acquittal of former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and his subordinates before the Sindh High Court.

Accepting his plea, the SHC issued notice to the Sindh prosecutor general and directed him to submit response in the case within four weeks.

The petition

In the petition, appellant Alam Sher, through his counsel Jibran Nasir, contended that the trial court had failed to adjudicate the charges against the accused under Sections 201, 202 and 204 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The Special Anti-Terrorism Court acquitted the accused ignoring the evidence, it read.

The petitioner pleaded to set aside the impugned judgement and convict the accused persons by awarding them the maximum sentence as prescribed under law.

The case

Last month, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitted former SSP-Malir Rao Anwar and other accused in the high-profile Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud murder case.

The court ruled that the prosecution has failed to prove the allegations against the prime accused Rao Anwar and others.

On July 11, 2018, the ATC granted bail to former SSP Malir Rao Anwar against a surety bond of Rs 1 million.

On March 25 last year, the anti-terrorism court (ATC) indicted former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar and others in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case.

The murder

Mehsud was killed on January 13, 2018, in Karachi during a fake encounter allegedly staged by SSP-Malir, the senior superintendent of police of Karachi’s Malir district.