Arshad Pappu murder case: SHC CJ takes suo motu notice of police’s failure to arrest Uzair Jan Baloch

Asks Sindh police chief to submit report within seven days .

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam took suo motu notice on Thursday of police’s failure to arrest Uzair Jan Baloch, the chairperson of the Karachi City Alliance earlier known as defunct Peoples Amn Committee, in the murder case of alleged Lyari gangster Arshad Pappu.

Sindh police’s chief has been ordered to submit a report within one week, explaining why Baloch was still out of the law enforcers’ reach after more than four months of Pappu’s murder.



CJ Mushir Alam had taken a suo motu notice on a note put up by the SHC Registrar Abdul Malik Gaddi based on clippings of newspapers.

According to newspaper reports, one of Karachi’s Anti-Terrorism Courts on July 23 had ordered police to initiate procedure for proclamation of Uzair Jan Baloch, Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Shahjehan Baloch, Zubair Baloch, Zakir Dada, Abdul Rehman and a policeman Yousuf Baloch, who have been charged in the triple murder case. Police were also ordered to seize their properties.

Alleged Lyari gangster Arshad Pappu, his brother Yasir Arafat and ten-year-old son, and their confidant Juma Sher had gone to attend a friend’s party in Defense Housing Authority on the night of March 16.

According to prosecution, the boy returned home at midnight and disclosed that the three men were abducted. Later, the three were allegedly killed after severe torture and their mutilated, beheaded bodies were found in Lyari.

On the Supreme Court’s order, a murder case was registered by the Kalakot police under Sections 302, 365, 297, 392, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 against Uzair Baloch, Shahjehan Baloch, Zubair Baloch, Zakir Dada, Abdul Rehman and Yousuf Baloch and others.

Police had declared Uzair Baloch, Habib Jan, Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla, his brother Zahid Ladla, Asif Kana, Faisal Pathan, Yasir Pathan along with Chand Khan Niazi and Javed Baloch - the then station house officers of Chakiwara and Kalakot police stations - as absconders.

The trial court declared them as proclaimed offenders after they failed to turn up on their own despite issuance of repeated notices and the law enforcers failed to track down them.

A day after his proclamation, Uzair Baloch hosted a large iftar for journalists and others in Lyari.

On Thursday, SHC CJ Mushir Alam took notice of the law enforcers’ failure to arrest the nominated accuseds who have even been declared as proclaimed offenders.

Sindh IG has been directed to submit his report within seven days in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2013.