Police killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud angers Pakistanis #JusticeForNaqib

Family members of 27-year-old accused of 'terrorism' say he was innocent, anger seethes on social media.

Mehsud, 27, was killed in a police raid in Karachi but his family says he was innocent.

Islamabad, Pakistan - The police killing of a man in Karachi has sparked a social media outcry, as his family members reject claims by authorities that he was a member of the Pakistan Taliban, saying he was an innocent aspiring male model.

Police fatally shot Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, during a raid on what they described as a "terrorist hideout" in eastern Karachi last week, according to a police statement.

He was buried in his native town of Makin, in the South Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan, on Friday, family members told Al Jazeera.

So-called "encounter killings" are common in Pakistan. Rights groups say when police lack enough evidence for a court conviction, they extrajudicially kill suspects.

In 2016, police said they had killed at least 318 suspects during raids and shootouts in Karachi, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HCRP), an independent rights organisation.

"Some men in plainclothes came and abducted him from a restaurant in Karachi on January 3 [10 days before police said he was killed]," said Alamgir Mehsud, Naqeebullah's cousin. "Then on January 16, we were told that he had been killed by police. We got his body back the next day."

Naqeebullah, also known as Naseemullah, ran a popular Facebook page where he posted pictures of himself modelling clothes and hairstyles.

"He used to work in a garment mill in Karachi, and he used that money to fund his modelling," said Alamgir. "He was a sort of idol to young people from the Mehsud tribe in Karachi."

On September 16, he posted a warning to young people not to engage in the "Blue Whale Challenge", a reported social media campaign that encouraged self-harm.

Social media users used the hashtag #JusticeForNaqib to post messages of solidarity with his family, pictures of him modelling and to demand the police be held to account.

Now we want justice for Nakeeb fron the government of Pakistan.
#JusticeForNakeeb
#JusticeForNakib