Pakistan arrests officer over killing that sparked protests

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday arrested a police officer accused of killing a 27-year-old man in an allegedly “stage-managed” shootout. The killing in the port city of Karachi sparked outrage on the part of Pakistan’s tribal communities, which have long complained of heavyhanded treatment at the hands of security forces. The officer, Rao Anwar, had gone in hiding after a probe into the Jan. 13 killing of Naqeeb Ullah, a fashion model from the country’s Mehsud tribe, found that he had committed no crime. On Wednesday, Anwar voluntarily appeared before the Supreme Court and sought bail, a request which was denied. Thousands of people from the tribal communities took to the streets after Ullah’s killing, demanding the officer’s arrest. Pakistani authorities have vowed to take action. Anwar gained prominence in recent years after several shootouts with alleged terrorists in which neither him nor any of his team members were hurt. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said that Anwar was involved in at least 192 raids in which 444 people were killed.