In custody: Former provincial minister arrested for possession of illegal weapons, narcotics

Mir Hyder Ali Talpur was caught during a snap check by the police.

HYDERABAD: The former provincial minister and ex-chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board for the Hyderabad region was arrested for possession of illegal weapons, narcotics and liquor.

Police claim that they caught Mir Hyder Ali Talpur during a snap check within the limits of the SITE police station while he was travelling in his car. His family have, however, accused the police of harassment and trying to hurt their social image.

The arrest

On Saturday night, Talpur was in his car with a friend identified as Ali Hassan Solangi when the police stopped them. He was produced before a special court on Sunday after the FIR was lodged on a police complaint and was remanded to judicial custody at Nara Jail. The police claim to have recovered around five kilogrammes of hashish, 96 bottles of liquor and illegal weapons.



Talpur has been accused of running gambling and drug dens in Hyderabad’s Old Power House Colony which is located in the downtown area.

“We keep receiving complaints from residents that Talpur is running gambling, narcotics dens and brothels,” said SSP Hyderabad Irfan Baloch.

Last month, the police raided the den and arrested few suspects. They nominated around 150 people in the FIR. A senior police official told The Express Tribune that Talpur evaded his arrest due to his contacts in the government and bribing the police.

While speaking at a press conference on Monday, Talpur’s brother, Mir Muhammad Ali, urged the apex and the high court to take notice of the activities of SSP Baloch. “My brother is an important political and social figure,” he said. “He was a provincial minister, an adviser and an MPA. Our father Mir Ali Ahmed Talpur is the former defence minister. These attempts by the police are aimed at maligning us.”

Talpur headed the PCB Hyderabad Region, which includes all districts in Sindh except Karachi, for two tenures from 2009 to 2012. He was the elected MPA from a constituency in Hyderabad in 1985.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.