Karachi: An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC-VI) in Karachi on Saturday exonerated seven police personnel involved in the murder trial of Naseemullah, popularly known as Naqeebullah Mehsud, and three others killed in an alleged extrajudicial encounter in January 2018.
The acquitted personnel include former SHOs Amanullah Marwat (Shah Latif Town) and Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib alias Shooter (Sachal), Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Gada Hussain, head constables Sadaqat Ali and Mohsin Abbasi, and constables Raja Shamim and Rana Riaz Ahmed.
Prosecutor Anila Malik argued that over 40 witnesses had linked the accused directly to the crime, maintaining that documentary evidence corroborated the prosecution's claims. However, defence counsel Farzana Mateen successfully contended that key prosecution witnesses failed to identify the accused during trial proceedings or in earlier statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The death of 27 year old Naqeebullah Mehsud, an aspiring model from South Waziristan, sparked widespread public outrage and led to nationwide civil rights protests against staged police encounters across Pakistan. With Saturday's ruling, all primary police officials named in the original FIR have been cleared by trial courts.
Following the verdict, human rights advocates and legal analysts expressed deep concern over the systemic issues within the judicial and investigative processes that led to the collapse of the prosecution's case. Observers pointed out that reliance on compromised witness testimonies and flawed forensic collection during high profile extrajudicial trials frequently results in acquittals, leaving fundamental questions regarding police accountability in Pakistan unresolved.
Meanwhile, representatives for Naqeebullah Mehsud's family reiterated their commitment to challenging the rulings in higher judicial forums. The family's legal team indicated that an appeal will be lodged with the Sindh High Court, seeking a comprehensive review of the trial court's evaluation of the evidence and aiming to reopen scrutiny into the actions of the police officers involved.
