An anti-terrorism court has acquitted all 17 accused including main accused former Malir SSP Rao Anwar in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The ATC on Monday announced the reserved verdict on the high-profile murder case after five years. The court reserved its judgement on January 14 after hearing arguments from the lawyers of all the parties.

In a brief judgement, the court said that the prosecution had failed to submit sufficient evidence against Anwar and other accused persons.

As many as 51 witnesses’ statements were recorded in the case.

The Naqeebullah murder case was registered on January 23, 2018. The names of more than 90 witnesses were included in the challan. However, seven witnesses of the prosecution retracted their statements given to the police.

The court concluded the trial and announced the verdict after five years. The murder triggered widespread condemnation and a debate on social media about fake police encounters in Karachi, especially by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar. 

Mehsud was an aspiring model from South Waziristan and was living in Karachi. He along with two other persons was 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 January 13, 2018. 

Talking to media after the court verdict, former SSP Rao Anwar hailed the decision. He said Allah has done justice to him. He revealed that one Naseebullah was gunned down in the encounter, not Naqeebullah. He said a wrong picture of the slain person was aired on the media. 

Reporter Mumtaz Jamali