DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Naqeebullah, hailing from South Waziristan tribal agency who was killed in an alleged encounter with a police team led by SSP Rao Anwar in Karachi, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Makeen, here late on Thursday night.

According to local residents, the body of Naseem Mehsud alias Naqeebullah was brought to Tank district on Thursday which was received by a large number of tribal people, including elders and students. His funeral prayer was offered at Tank Town Hall and then the coffin was dispatched to his native Makeen area in South Waziristan.

Naqeeb along with four others was killed in encounters with Karachi police in the Usman Khashkheli Goth on the outskirts of the port city last week.

His death has attracted widespread rage from tribal people as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Manzoor Ahmed Pakhtun, president of Mehsud Tahafuz Movement, Naqeeb was gunned down in a fake encounter and SSP Rao Anwar was responsible for his murder. He said Naqeeb was a devoted Pakistani and dweller of Waziristan Agency, adding he had nothing to do with terrorism.

He announced to stage long march towards Islamabad on Jan 26 and stage sit-ins in front of the Parliament House and the Prime Minister House to seek justice. He demanded action against the SSP and his team for killing innocent tribal youth.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2018