The high-profile killing case of Naqeebullah Mehsud has dominated the news cycle for the past five years. An Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi acquitted the prime suspect former SSP Rao Anwar and all other accused in the case on January 23, 2023.

Below is the timeline of the case:

January 03, 2018: Naqeebullah, a 27-year-old hailing from South Waziristan, was kidnapped from Gul Sher Agha Hotel in Sohrab Goth, Karachi with his three friends.

January 06, 2018: The three friends of Naqeebullah were freed by the police.

January 13, 2018: Naqeebullah was reported killed among four suspects killed in an “encounter” with a police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Rao Anwar in the Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of the metropolis last week.

January 18, 2018: Murder sparks outrage on social media, and internet users demand justice for Naqeeb. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal to probe Naqeebullah’s death.

January 19, 2018: People protest against the killing in various cities. The Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of the killing and seeks a report from IG police within seven days.

January 20, 2018: Naqeebullah was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Makeen, North Waziristan.

January 20, 2018: An inquiry team of senior police officers probing the killing found that the Waziristan native was killed in a “fake encounter”, sources told police.

Authorities suspend SSP Anwar over involvement in the alleged extrajudicial killing.

January 23, 2018: Anwar booked on kidnapping, murder and terrorism charges.

January 23, 2018: The SC orders that place Anwar’s name on the Exit Control List.

January 24, 2018: Anwar reportedly goes into hiding after an investigation was launched against him.

January 30, 2018: The Sindh government suspends Anwar and Investigation SP Altaf Sarwar Malik while the Counter-Terrorism Department gears up its efforts to arrest the prime suspect.

February 01, 2018: Pashtun people stage a sit-in against the “fake encounter” and demand Anwar be arrested.

March 02, 2018: Police submits interim charge sheet before the administrative judge of antiterrorism courts against Anwar and other police officials in the case.

March 21, 2018: Anwar was arrested when he finally appeared before the SC.

April 05, 2018: The then-army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, meets the father of Naqeebullah Mehsud and assures him of support to get justice.

April 26, 2018: A five-member Joint Investigation Team, constituted by the Supreme Court to probe into the killing, held Anwar responsible for the murder.

May 14, 2018: A witness in a case pertaining to the case told the court that a statement establishing the presence of Anwar at the site of the murder was extracted under duress.

July 05, 2018: Court informed that Rao Anwar announced Naqeebullah’s death hours before it happened.

January 24, 2019: ATC in Karachi declared Naqeebullah and three others innocent and quashed the cases against them.

March 25, 2019: ATC indicts Anwar in Naqeebullah case, however, the prime suspect pleaded not guilty before the court.

December 02, 2019: Mohammad Khan, the father of Naqeebullah Mehsud passes away.

December 10, 2019: US blacklists Rao Anwar for “serious human rights abuse” through fake police encounters.

July 22, 2020: Two key prosecution witnesses retract their earlier statements before an ATC.

November 12, 2022: Anwar in a statement to the court claimed he is being framed in the case.

January 14, 2023: An antiterrorism court reserves its verdict till Jan 23 in the case.

January 23, 2023: ATC acquits the prime suspect former SSP Rao Anwar and all other accused in the case. It ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond doubt.