KARACHI: Rao Anwar, the absconding police officer who was arrested outside the apex court on Wednesday morning, was shifted here to Karachi, where he will be questioned by a joint interrogation team (JIT) and tried in an anti-terrorism court.
Anwar arrived in Karachi on a Shaheen Air flight from Islamabad, along with Additional IG Sindh, Aftab Pathan.
“Getting justice in Pakistan seems to be happening. I hope I will get justice, and also those who have faced similar injustice at the hands of people like Rao Anwar,” said Hajji Muhammad Khan, father of the young Pashtun Naqeebullah Mehsud, who was killed in a police raid in Karachi.
“My expectations of the supreme court seem about to be fulfilled,” Mehsud’s father told.
“We strived to get justice within the limits of the law. It has been proved that justice may be delayed but can’t be permanently denied,” said Saif Ur Rehman, leader of the Pashtun Jirga, whose protest forced authorities to register the case against Anwar.
“Today’s proceedings have raised our hopes of getting justice. We say thanks to our institutions, who delayed but eventually sided with the oppressed against injustice,” Mehsud told Arab News.
“Anwar hasn’t only defaced Pakistan but also caused damage to the image of the peaceful Pashtun community by posing them as Taliban militants,” Mehsud maintained.
Meanwhile, a JIT headed by Additional Inspector General of Sindh Police Aftab Pathan and comprising DIG Zulfiqar Larak, DIG Azad Khan, DIG Waliullah Dal and SSP Dr. Rizwan, was formed.
Earlier the court rejected Anwar’s request to form a JIT from intelligence agencies.
Anwar, former Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) of Malir, Karachi, is accused of killing the aspiring model Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter.
Anwar had claimed Naqeebullah was an active member of the PakistanTaliban, but subsequently evidence began to pile up against the police team involved in his killing.
After the incident, a formal inquiry was launched against Anwar. As pressure mounted on him, he went underground and even made a botched attempt to fly out of Pakistan.
He also wrote a few letters to the Supreme Court after it began the suo motu hearing on Naqeebullah’s murder, telling the judges that the system was heavily stacked against him and he was not hoping to get any justice in the case.
In response, the country’s top court granted him some relief, asking him to surrender and let the law take its course.
The court was also willing to reconstitute the JIT looking into Naqeebullah’s killing since the absconding police officer had voiced concern over its composition.
Despite these steps, Anwar did not make an appearance before the court, forcing judges to take action against him by asking the relevant authorities to freeze his accounts.
In a surprise move on Wednesday, however, the absconding police officer came to the court in a white car. He was clad in a black dress and wore a medical mask to cover his face.
Anwar’s lawyer told the chief justice that his client had “surrendered” himself and wanted protective bail.
However, the Supreme Court turned down the request and ordered law enforcement authorities to lock up the former SSP.
The country’s top judge expressed his displeasure, saying that Anwar had continued to run away from legal procedures even when the court had guaranteed that he would get a fair hearing and justice would be dispensed in the case.
Rao Anwar shifted to Karachi for further interrogation
Rao Anwar shifted to Karachi for further interrogation
Two Pakistani men indicted in $10 million Medicare fraud scheme in Chicago
- Prosecutors say defendants billed Medicare and private insurers for nonexistent services
- Authorities say millions of dollars in proceeds were laundered and transferred to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani nationals have been indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury charged Burhan Mirza, 31, who resided in Pakistan, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.
“Rooting out fraud is a priority for this Justice Department, and these defendants allegedly billed millions of dollars from Medicare and laundered the proceeds to Pakistan,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“These alleged criminals stole from a program designed to provide health care benefits to American seniors and the disabled, not line the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” he added. “We will not tolerate these schemes that divert taxpayer dollars to criminals.”
Prosecutors said that in 2023 and 2024, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to bill Medicare and private health benefit programs for nonexistent services.
According to the indictment, Mirza obtained identifying information of individuals, providers and insurers without their knowledge and used it to support fraudulent claims submitted on behalf of shell companies. Iqbal was allegedly linked to several durable medical equipment providers that filed false claims and is accused of laundering proceeds and coordinating transfers of funds to Pakistan.
Mirza faces 12 counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering. Iqbal is charged with 12 counts of health care fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement to US law enforcement. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Three additional defendants, including an Indian, previously charged in the investigation, have pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.
An indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
