Betrayed by his own man, Baba Ladla throws down arms for now

Baba’s commanders join his rival Uzair Baloch, leaving the gangster short on trusted men.

KARACHI: The recent three-day battle in Lyari between the groups of Bada Ladla and Uzair Baloch has exposed the weaknesses of the former, especially after he conceded to a ceasefire which comes as a surprise to those who know him.

Noor Mohammad alias Baba Ladla is the chief operational commander of Lyari gangsters but after his own men turned on him, he believes that he is no longer in a position to continue the fight - at least for now, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to insiders, Baba also suffered setbacks when a large number of his operational commanders were killed. “Uzair Baloch in comparison did not lose as many men. Some of Baba’s commanders even joined his rival’s group, which came as a shock to say the least,” said an insider.

Four commanders - Moosa Baloch, Yousuf Gojji, Mairaj Baloch and Younus Baloch - of Baba’s group were killed, either during the gang war or in encounters with law enforcers. Many others, including Ustad Taju, Mullah Nisar, Umer Kutchi, Wasiullah Lakho, Shafi Pathan and Ismail Lashari, chose to leave Baba and join Uzair’s gang.

“When internal cracks between the Peoples Amn Committee started to appear, these men played a neutral role as they were against the internal gang war. But one by one, they saw Baba weaken and joined Uzair,” said a source inside the group. “Baba is now fighting with only few of his remaining commanders, including Sikander Sikku.”

Reorganising the troops

Baba’s brother Zahid Ladla, Karachi City Alliance’s chief Shahid Rehman and his brother Shakeel Commando are among some of the gangster’s most trusted men but could not help him fight. “Since Zahid was wounded few months ago, he was unable to participate [in the gang war] and help his brother,” explained the insiders. “Shakeel Commando was injured during the internal gang war while Rehman is considered a politician and has no expertise in fighting.”

Law enforcers also believed that their actions along with the internal gang war have weakened the gangsters, especially Baba.

“We did not face resistance from Baba’s side. Over the last few days, we faced massive resistance from Faisal Pathan of Uzair’s group,” Lyari DSP Shakeel Ahmed told The Express Tribune.

“Baba didn’t even attend the jirga for the ceasefire as he believed that he could be killed on the way to the jirga or while it was taking place,” a source close to Ladla told The Express Tribune. “During this temporary ceasefire, Ladla has once again started reorganising his group to make sure it is strong again.”

The troubled areas of Lyari remained tense on Monday as a virtual curfew was imposed by police and the Rangers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2013.