KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday acquitted seven accused, including former SHO Amanullah Marwat and alleged police shooter Shoaib Shaikh alias Shooter, in the murder case of Naqeebullah Mehsud, citing a lack of evidence against them.
Mehsud, a 27-year-old shopkeeper from South Waziristan who was interested in modelling, was killed along with three other men in January 2018 in an alleged encounter
The other six acquitted were Gada Hussain, Sadaqat Hussain, Riyaz Ahmed, Raja Shamim and Mohsin Abbas. During the proceedings, defence counsel Abid Zaman argued that none of the witnesses against the accused police personnel had testified that the encounter in which Naqeebullah was killed had been staged. The prosecution told the court that 18 other police officers and personnel, including former SSP Malir Rao Anwar, had already been acquitted earlier in the case.
From absconders to acquittal
The seven accused had been declared absconders before surrendering before the court following its decision, the prosecution said. Six of them, including Marwat, had been granted post-arrest bail by an anti-terrorism court in April 2026, after the court allowed the prosecution to present additional evidence, which prolonged the trial. All seven had been indicted in 2024; Shaikh had already been out on bail at the time.
The 2018 killing
Naqeebullah, a 27-year-old shopkeeper from South Waziristan who was interested in modelling, was killed along with three other men in January 2018 in an alleged encounter involving a police team headed by Anwar in Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of Karachi. Anwar had claimed Naqeebullah was a member of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an allegation his family rejected and which the TTP’s South Waziristan chapter also denied. The killing triggered widespread protests and allegations that the encounter had been staged.
Inquiry found a staged encounter
A three-member inquiry team led by then Additional Inspector General of the Counter-Terrorism Department Dr Sanaullah Abbasi concluded later that month that Naqeebullah had no involvement in terrorism and had been killed in a fake encounter. Abbasi told Naqeebullah’s family, friends and tribal elders that those responsible would be brought to justice.
Anwar’s removal and ECL listing
Following the inquiry, an FIR was registered against Anwar and other police personnel on the complaint of Naqeebullah’s father, who alleged his son had been taken into custody before he was killed. Anwar was removed as SSP Malir and later investigated in the case, and the Supreme Court ordered his name placed on the Exit Control List after reports that he had attempted to leave the country.
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