Rao Anwar’s arrest: Sindh IGP says no way to trace Whatsapp call

ISLAMABAD: Sindh IGP AD Khawaja expressed his inability to give a certain date for apprehending Rao Anwar, who still remains at large after his arrest orders over the extrajudicial killing of a 27-year-old Waziristan native in Karachi.

The absconding police official is wanted by authorities in connection to the extrajudicial murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud — who along with three others — was killed in an ‘exchange of fire’ with a police team led by Anwar on January 13 in Shah Latif Town, Karachi.

“He [Anwar] is making calls on WhatsApp and we are trying to trace their location,” Khawaja said, adding that the police lacks ‘competence’ to trace calls made on the social networking application.

Anwar, on Tuesday, had contacted Geo News via WhatsApp from an undisclosed location and commented on a raid conducted by the capital city police on a property the latter had claimed belongs to the fugitive. He had also declared that he was present in Pakistan. 

Responding to a question about the police force abetting their suspended colleague, the Sindh police chief advised the reporters to not make such ‘conjectures.’

“The police has registered a case and completed the legal requirements,” Khawaja said while addressing the media outside the Supreme Court earlier today.  

“It is not necessary that someone created the fake documents [used by Anwar] but we have asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for assistance [in this regard]” Khawaja said in response to a counterfeit No Objection Certificate (NOC) which the suspended police official had presented at the Benazir Bhutto International airport.  

When asked about Anwar fleeing from Islamabad's airport, the Sindh police chief said the question should be directed to the Capital Territory Police.

‘Senate committee has reservations on police's inability to arrest Anwar’

Senator Nasreen Jalil on January 31 said that the Senate committee has reservations on Sindh police’s inability to apprehend Anwar. 

"Naqeebullah Mehsud was the nation’s son and an impression that powerful people have given Anwar asylum exists," she said while addressing the media in Karachi.  

"This impression should be changed or else people will continue to think that God forbid the government is involved in backing Anwar." 

'Whoever is supporting Anwar will be exposed'

Home Minister Sindh Sohail Anwar Siyal on Wednesday said that the person who is supporting the absconding police official will be exposed.

"If anyone has any complaint against Rao Anwar, they should approach the relevant committee," he said while addressing journalists in Karachi.  

Expressing his own dissatisfaction with proceedings in the Naqeebullah and Intezar murder cases, Siyal said Anwar is a criminal who has to be arrested. 

"He is a criminal for the Sindh government. Rao Anwar or anyone for that matter is not above the law," he said. "The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu notice of the [Naqeebullah] case, a First Investigation Report [FIR] has been registered and [Anwar] has to be arrested."

LEAs unable to apprehend absconding officer

The authorities have failed to produce Anwar even after a 72-hour Supreme Court deadline to arrest the wanted official expired on January 30. 

Even after the Sindh police chief wrote a letter to intelligence agencies and police departments of all provinces to seek their help in arresting Anwar, the absconder has continues to take the lead in his cat-and-mouse game with the law enforcement authorities (LEAs). 

While authorities had claimed that a raid conducted on a house in Islamabad belonged to Rao, the latter, in an exclusive conversation with Geo News from an undisclosed location, had denied ownership of the property. 

Sindh Home Minister Sohail Ahmed Siyal, when asked why authorities had failed to produce the man despite his constant contact with the media, had shrugged off responsibility, stating that the provincial police department was responsible for Anwar's arrest. 

Naqeebullah murder case

Anwar and his police party went into hiding soon after an inquiry committee was formed, following claims of innocence from Naqeebullah's family.

An FIR was registered against the suspended SSP and his associates, owing to their no-show and alleged involvement in the case.

The committee, headed by Counter-Terrorism Department Additional IG Sanaullah Abbasi, submitted its report on the case to the Supreme Court on Friday, which stated that Naqeebullah was killed in a 'fake encounter' with the police.

Meanwhile, the Sindh police chief on Sunday wrote a letter to intelligence agencies, seeking their technical and intelligence assistance to apprehend Anwar.

The letter for assistance stated that Anwar had reached Islamabad through a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on the morning of January 20 and attempted to flee to Dubai on January 23, but was barred from doing so by immigration officials.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court on Saturday, after the apex court's 72-hour deadline, IG Khawaja had said: “I think that he [Rao Anwar] should face the court. The court will listen to his legal arguments.”

Responding to a question about the court's deadline, Khawaja remarked: “We will try our best to arrest him.”