RAWALPINDI / ISLAM­ABAD: A joint team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police on Tuesday conducted raids in Rawal­pindi and Islamabad in an effort to arrest former SP Rao Anwar Khan but failed to find any clue to his whereabouts.

Accompanied by the FIA, a team of Karachi police headed by Senior Superinten­dent of Police (investigations) Zulfiqar Mahar conducted raids in the areas under the jurisdiction of Airport police in Rawalpindi and Shalimar police in Islamabad. The police team, which had been in the capital for the past two days, also raided a house allegedly owned by the former SP in Sector F-10/4.

Interestingly, Karachi-based reporters received a text message from SP Anwar’s mobile phone after the news about the raid broke in which he denied that he owned the house. He also sent an image of the electricity bill of the same house in the name of one Waqas Rifat.

When contacted, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Shalimar police Abdul Razzaq said he and his staff were kept in the dark by the FIA and the Sindh police team about the raid, though three Karachi police officials had come to the police station on Sunday to inform the officials about their arrival.

He said he could only confirm that the police team had raided an empty house, which was locked, in Sector F-10/4 of Islamabad.

The police pasted a poster on the wall of the house inscribed with the heading “Wanted/Absconder” and providing details of the charges against Rao Anwar as mentioned in the FIR registered against him for allegedly killing a young man, Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud, in a fake encounter in Karachi.

Through the poster, general public has been asked to provide information about Rao Anwar to the Malir SSP (investigations). It also carries the mobile and landline numbers of the head of the investigation team.

Meanwhile, police on Tuesday produced before an antiterrorism court in Rawalpindi a suspect arr­est­ed for announcing on the social media a reward for killing Rao Anwar and sought his remand for two days.

The police party, led by SSP Mahar, had arrested Salim Jaffar on Monday night. An FIR had been registered against him in the Sachal police station on charges of inciting people against police and creating terror.

Law enforcement agencies have been trying to trace and arrest Rao Anwar for one week. He was last seen at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Jan 23 attempting to take a flight to Dubai when the FIA immigration staff stopped him from going abroad as he has been facing charges of extrajudicial killings in Karachi. Hours later, his name was placed on the Exit Control List on the directive of the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2018