The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered to place Rao Anwar's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) after reports emerged that the former senior superintendent of police Malir attempted to leave the country last night.
Rao was stopped from boarding a Dubai-bound flight at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport late on Monday night, sources told Dawn. Anwar, however, denied the reports.
"I did not try to go anywhere," the senior police official told Dawn on Tuesday. "Yesterday, there was fake news about a raid at my house and today, media is saying that I have tried to leave the country — which is a false claim."
Anwar is currently under investigation for his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud.
The SC had taken suo motu notice of Mehsud's alleged murder in a 'staged encounter'. The court will take up the case on Saturday. Anwar, Sindh Inspector General Police A.D. Khowaja and the provinical advocate general have all been asked to appear in court.
The police investigative team assigned to the case has also been asked to appear in court on Saturday, along with all the evidence they have collected.
Attempt to 'flee'
According to airport sources, Anwar had tried to board Emirates airline flight EK615 last night but was stopped by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials at the immigration counter. He was told that he would not be allowed to board the plane as there is an ongoing investigation against him in Karachi, said the sources, adding that Anwar was kept from boarding the plane under Immigration Ordinance 506.
No attempt to arrest Anwar was reportedly made and he was allowed to leave the airport after being stopped from boarding the flight.
The committee investigating Anwar and other officials for the alleged extrajudicial killing had recommended that the men be barred from leaving the country. While a letter has been sent to the Interior Ministry to place their names on the ECL, no notification has been issued as yet.
Naqeebullah's family is expected to register an FIR against the policemen responsible for the killing today under the anti-terrorism law. The decision was made during a jirga attended by members of the Mehsud tribe in Karachi on Monday.
The former SSP, on Monday, neither appeared before police investigators nor before a high-powered National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) delegation at the office of the inspector general of police.
Alleged extrajudicial killing
Mehsud, hailing from South Waziristan, was allegedly among four suspects killed in an 'encounter' with a police team headed by Anwar in the Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of the metropolis earlier this month.
Anwar had alleged that Mehsud was a Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant but a statement reportedly issued by a spokesperson of TTP's South Waziristan chapter had termed Anwar's claim as "baseless", clarifying that the deceased had no links with the banned militant outfit.
Mehsud's family had also disputed Anwar's claim, saying that the 27-year-old had no links with any militant organisation.
Naqeebullah Mehsud — whose name is given as Naseemullah on his national identity card — was a shop owner fond of modelling, relatives of the deceased had told DawnNews.
