Relatives of slain Waziristan man starkly dispute police claim

ISLAMABAD: Three relatives of Naqeebullah Mehsud, who was killed in an alleged encounter by police in Karachi last week, have starkly disputed police claim that the slain man was affiliated with militants. They said that the deceased had studied at a public school up to class 6 and had never attended any seminary in his lifetime. Muhammad Khan, the father of Naqeeb, said his son was neither criminal-minded nor had ties with the Taliban or any other militant outfit. He said his late son couldn’t even hit a person, leave alone killing his fellow countrymen. Police had detained him and within days returned his body for no reason. “We, the people of Waziristan, are being given a special Watan Card, an additional document to go to Waziristan, by the security forces, which means the card holder has no links to militants, but Rao Anwar had challenged the authenticity of that card,” he noted. He said he wanted to see his son be a famous person one day, but the police had shattered his dreams. Mujahid Budarkhel, a cousin of the deceased, recalled that Naqeeb’s parents, his family and most of other families of Makeen, the scenic valley and birthplace of the deceased, had been displaced in 2007 because of the military offensive against militants. “Naqeeb’s sub caste in Mehsud is Abdalai, Lalekhel and then Budarkhel and his family has repatriated and now living in Budarkhel village,” he added. Naqeeb along with his parents and his family had to migrate to Razmak, a town in North Waziristan on the edge with South Waziristan, because his financial position was weak and they couldn’t afford to migrate to the down district. Naqeeb has a brother-in-law who is living in Razmak and who offered Naqeeb’s family to live in his spacious house there. The people of Razmak town had not been displaced and the family and parents of the deceased were living with his brother-in-law during the years after displacement, he recalled. The slain man studied in Makeen until class 8, he added. However, Naqeeb couldn’t continue his education because of certain reasons, including the wave of militancy that plagued the region. “Naqeeb has two daughters, aged nine and seven years, while his son is hardly two years old,” he continued. He had three brothers; the eldest working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a driver and younger brothers studying in their village of Makeen. His father Muhammad Khan is a widely respected man in his area and has a great role in local disputes’ resolution, Budarkhel added. Even the UAE visa for Naqeeb’s elder brother Mureed was arranged by their brother-in-law with whom they were living during displacement. “Mureed is the sole bread winner for his extended family,” he noted. The deceased had selected a shop for cloth business in Karachi’s Sohrab Ghot locality and Mureed promised his slain brother to send him money to start his business. He recalled that Naqeeb was picked up on January 3 from Malik Sher Agha Hotel and the encounter was staged by the police on January 12 in Shah Latif Town. “I was just looking at his (Naqeebullah) two years old messages in the messenger and found that he had asked me to send him a camera because he had great love for photography,” Budarkhel recalled. He said the deceased had no inclination toward the Taliban nor did he have any kind of links with militants. After displacement, he had no contact with late Naqeeb, he said, adding that last October when he had visited his hometown in Makeen he had met Naqeeb. The family and parents of the deceased were living in Razmak but he used to come to Karachi in the winter season to eke out a livelihood for his family by working as a daily wager in a number of factories and mills. He had his Watan Card given by the army, which means he had no links with the Taliban. Had he been involved in such heinous activities, why would he have lived in Makeen. “Naqeeb had great love for photography and to upload pictures on the social media. He was a social person and loved to live among his friends most of the time,” he recalled. He said that late Naqeeb had six to eight cameras. “He had never ever studied at a seminary in his entire life,” he added. When contacted by phone, Merajuddin, the uncle of the deceased, recalled that his late nephew studied at Shoaib Public School in Makeen. He then quit studies because the anti-Taliban operation had started when he was hardly 13 or 14 years old. During his displacement days in Razmak, Naqeeb went to Karachi at the age of 16 where he used to work in one factory after another to earn a livelihood. He said his nephew had to live in the same factory or mill where he used to work in Karachi. He used to spend a day or two with his uncle-in-law in Karachi. According to his uncle, the Naqeeb’s younger brothers were studying in class 6 and class 2. “No, he had never even visited a seminary. He was planning to open a cloth stop in Karachi. He got a shop on rent but some days later left that shop, saying that it was not in the main area,” Merajuddin recalled. He opted to get another shop on rent in a new market in Sohrab Ghot locality. “Naqeeb asked me to come to Karachi as he got a shop, saying he had good friends to help him get cloth on credit,” he stated. Late Naqeeb’s uncle recalled he had never heard that nephew had ever used harsh language at home. “I couldn’t believe that Naqeeb had been killed this way,” Merajuddin rued. Now as investigations are underway into his tragic killing, Merajuddin said that they had lost a son who would never come back. He demanded the authorities to conduct a fair probe into Naqeeb’s murder and serve justice to the bereaved family, and award exemplary punishment to the wrongdoers. Published in Daily Times, January 20th 2018.