KARACHI: An antiterrorism court dismissed on Wednesday bail applications moved by five former police officials in a case pertaining to the murder of aspiring Waziristan model Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in a ‘staged’ encounter.

Former SSP Malir Rao Anwar along with his around two dozen subordinates has been charged with killing Naqeeb and three others after dubbing them ‘Taliban militants’ in a ‘fake’ shoot-out on Jan 13, 2018.

On Wednesday, the matter was fixed before the ATC-III judge.

Former SSP Anwar and other accused on bail appeared before the court. Other co-accused detained in prison were not produced due to spread of coronavirus.

The bail pleas were filed by Mohammad Anar, Khair Mohammad, Faisal Mehmood, Syed Raees Abbas Zaidi and Syed Imran Raza Kazmi.

The judge rejected the post-arrest bail to them and dismissed their applications.

In February, the court had allowed Alam Sher, brother of Naqeebullah Mehsud, to become complainant in the present case after his father Mohammad Khan, who was initially complainant in the murder case, passed away due to cancer in December 2019.

According to the prosecution, the under-trial police officials kidnapped Mehsud and three others for ransom and killed them in a fake encounter and later dubbed them Taliban militants.

The killing of the young Mehsud had sparked widespread protests by civil society and then chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the killings.

Later, the trial court declared Naqeebullah and three victims innocent, and quashed the cases filed against them.

Rangers’ personnel murder case

An antiterrorism court on Wednesday fixed June 10 for hearing of an acquittal application moved by accused Sher Mohammad in a case pertaining to alleged kidnapping and killing of two Rangers personnel.

The alleged Lyari kingpin Uzair Baloch and Shaikh Sher Mohammad, alias Sheroo, have been charged with killing Rangers intelligence officials Havaldar Muneer Ahmed and Havaldar Ejaz Ahmed after kidnapping them in 2013.

On Wednesday, the matter came up before the ATC-XVI judge, when Uzair Baloch and Sher Mohammad were produced from prison.

The judge fixed the matter for hearing the acquittal application filed under Section 265-K of the criminal procedure code, on June 10.

He also bound a prosecution witness, an official of the bomb disposal squad, to appear on the next date to record his statement. The prison authorities were told to produce both the accused before the court on the next date.

According to the prosecution, the Rangers intelligence officials, who were on a private task, were going on a motorcycle when some unidentified men kidnapped them.

Both the kidnapped personnel were shot dead and their bodies found in the Mewashah graveyard on March 7, 2013, it added.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020