Will search for Rao Anwar with you, Imran tells protesting Mehsud tribe in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Sunday promised the protesting Mehsud tribe to find Rao Anwar — wanted for the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud.  

Anwar and his police party went into hiding soon after an inquiry committee was formed, following claims of innocence from the family of Naqeebullah — a 27-year-old native of Waziristan who was killed along with three others in a fake encounter in Karachi on January 13.

"Rao Anwar has not only killed Naqeebullah, he has killed others too," Imran said. "Be it Islamabad or elsewhere, I will find Rao Anwar with you."

He claimed that many other citizens were murdered in Karachi in the same way Naqeebullah was killed. 

"I kept trying to raise my voice against oppression." 

The PTI chief was addressing a press conference outside the National Press Club in the federal capital, where members of the Mehsud tribe are staging a protest sit-in to demand justice in the Naqeebullah killing case.

"Your demands are justified, you are not alone, the entire country is with you," he told the protestors, as he criticised drone attacks in Waziristan. "The drone attacks are a violation of human rights." 

'FATA must merge with KP'

The PTI chief stressed that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and KP must merge at the earliest possible. 

"I will make efforts to ensure the earliest possible merger of FATA with KP," he said, adding that his party will start a movement for the cause. 

"Ministers of this government are unaware of the problems faced by the residents of tribal areas." 

He assured the citizens of tribal areas that he would convey their demands to the army chief. 

'Should have never participated in US war' 

In his address, Imran also claimed that he was always opposed to sending the Pakistan Army to the tribal areas.

"We should have never participated in the United States' war," he said. "We should not have sent our army to the tribal areas."

Criticising former president Pervez Musharraf, the PTI chief said the former would not have deployed the army in the tribal areas had he studied history.

"I was against the war so I was labelled Taliban Khan," he said. "I marched for peace in Waziristan along with human rights groups.

Naqeebullah murder case

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.”