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An anti-terrorism court has acquitted all the 17 accused, including prime accused former Malir SSP Rao Anwar in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case, TV channel 24NewsHD reported.
On Monday, the ATC announced the reserved verdict in the high-profile murder case after five years. The court reserved judgment on January 14 after hearing arguments from all parties’ lawyers.
In a brief judgment, the court said the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence against Anwar and other accused persons.
A total of 51 witness statements were recorded in the case.
The Naqeebullah murder case was registered on 23 January 2018. The names of more than 90 witnesses were included in the case. However, seven witnesses from the prosecution retracted their statements given to the police.
The court closed the trial and delivered the verdict after five years. The killing sparked widespread condemnation and a debate on social media over fake police encounters in Karachi, particularly by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar.
Mehsud was an aspiring model from South Waziristan and lived in Karachi. He along with two other persons were allegedly gunned down by ex-SSP Rao Anwar and his more than two dozen subordinates after being declared militants in a fake police encounter on 13 January 2018.
Former SSP Rao Anwar spoke to the media after the court verdict and hailed the decision. He said that Allah has done justice to him. He revealed that one Naseebullah was gunned down in the encounter, not Naqeebullah. He said that a wrong picture of the killed person was broadcast in the media.
Reporter Mumtaz Jamali