KARACHI: A former police officer, who allegedly staged a fake encounter of a 27-year-old aspiring male model after declaring him a member of the Pakistani Taliban, was charged on Monday with murder.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi indicted former Malir Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar for the murder of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter in Karachi.
Anwar, who was in court when charges were framed against him, pleaded not guilty.
The court ordered the complainant and the magistrate, who recorded the testimonies of eyewitnesses, to appear on April 11 and adjourned the hearing until then.
Anwar, along with former deputy superintendent of police and three others who are accused in the case, are out on bail, while 13 police officials are in jail on judicial remand.
An inquiry team probing the Jan 2018 'extrajudicial killing' of Naqeebullah found that the Waziristan native was killed in a "fake encounter" which was "staged" by the former Malir SSP.
Following the inquiry team's findings, Anwar was suspended from his post.
Anwar, however, had claimed that Naqeeb was a Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militant but no evidence emerged to support this claim.
Naqeebullah's killing sparked outrage on social media.