Who was Naqeeb Mehsud?

Naseemullah, better known as Naqeeb Mehsud, was recently killed along with three other men by  a police party under Malir Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Rao Anwar in an “encounter” in Karachi.

Naqeeb, along with three other men were gunned down in an alleged police encounter near Shah Latif Town in Karachi and were termed militants belonging to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The Malir SSP,  accused several time for staged encounters in the past,  says he has evidence Naqeeb was a terrorist but family members, relatives and friends remember Naqeeb as a person who loved life and wanted a better future for his children.

ARY News learnt that Naqeeb, 27, aspired to become a model and despite working as a small time labourer in Karachi, was fashion savvy.

Soon after the January 13 encounter in which the police party claimed that they killed Naqeeb and three other men- whom they described as militants- Naqeeb’s friends started a social media campaign demanding justice for the youth who they claimed had nothing to do with terrorism.

Read More: DIG South to conduct probe into killing of Waziristan youth in ‘Karachi encounter’

The pictures they shared were from Naqeeb’s Facebook profile (Naqeeb Maseed with his nickname Veer in parentheses).

The pictures show the youth dressed sometimes in trendy clothes, sometimes in traditional Arab and tribal attire with carefully styled hair, pictures aspiring models take to add to their portfolio.

Other than pictures is a video of Naqeeb dancing to the tunes of Pashto songs.

“He migrated from Waziristan to Karachi in search of livelihood and worked in a mill but believe me he spent most of his salary on buying clothes and accessories to style himself as a model,” Naqeeb’s relative Noor Mehsud told ARY News.

Noor Mehsud claimed that Naqeeb was too conscious about his looks especially his hairstyle.

Human rights activists demanded an inquiry into his murder after his friends shared photos of him with the hashtag #JusticeForNaqeeb.

Rao Anwar, on the other hand, claimed that he has proof that Naqeeb along with other three men his party killed were militants involved in terrorist activities.

Naqeeb Mehsud is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

Provincial home minister orders inquiry

Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal on Thursday appointed Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Zone Azad Khan as an investigation officer into Naqeebullah Mehsud’s case.

Acting on notice of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the provincial home minister anticipated justice to be done in the case.

“I have appointed DIG police south zone Azad Khan as I.O [investigation officer] in Naqeeb Mehsood case, he is well reputed police officer I’m sure justice will be done,” Bilawal tweeted on Thursday.