Sindh police waiting to send team to bring Uzair Baloch back

If no one goes, Dubai police will have to release him after his detention is complete.

KARACHI: It’s been over a week since Uzair Baloch was arrested and the Pakistani authorities still have been unable to get their hands on him.

If the Sindh police do not send anyone to take him into custody, the Dubai police will have to release him after his detention period is complete.

Baloch, the chief of the defunct Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) and main culprit involved in the brutal killing of notorious gangster, Arshad Pappu, was at large since July 2013 before he was arrested by Interpol in Dubai.



Officials did not confirm when Uzair Baloch would be brought to Karachi but said that the Dubai authorities would hand him over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) first and then he would be handed over to the Sindh police.

Interpol issued red warrants for Uzair Baloch, Baba Ladla, Taj Muhammad alias Taju on a request from the FIA in June 2014, after the Sindh government sent documents for the warrants for key suspects of the Lyari gang war to the federal government on May 21 last year.  The federal government contacted Interpol through the FIA to arrest the alleged Lyari gangsters.

Uzair Baloch is wanted by the police for more than 50 criminal cases, including murder, attempted kidnapping for ransom and extortion.

Who is Uzair Baloch?

Uzair Baloch was nominated to succeed Rehman Dakait after the latter was killed in an alleged encounter with SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan in 2009. Baba Ladla assumed the role of the group’s operational commander. Differences emerged, however, between the two men and Ladla left the gang in September, 2013, to start his own gang.

Following turf wars, Uzair Baloch escaped from the country and had been living abroad. He was arrested a week ago in Dubai as he tried to cross the border using a fake passport. Since then, the accused has been in the custody of the Dubai police.

Why isn’t he back

According to IG Sindh Ghulam Hyder Jamali, they were ready to take him into custody but were waiting for official intimation.

“A team will be sent to Dubai to get him,” he said. “After the legalities are dealt with, someone from the UAE or Interpol will approach us.”  He added that they were completing our paper work and compiling his criminal record and other documents.

Sources in the FIA told The Express Tribune that they had no direct link with the accused. “We helped them in getting red warrants issued for Uzair Baloch,” said an official from the FIA. “He is not wanted by the FIA but the police.” He added that the Dubai police could not deport Uzair Baloch as he was not just a passenger and his warrants had already been issued.

According to the FIA official, the Dubai police will not send him back till the Sindh police sends someone to get him. However, if there is a delay, the Dubai police could release him after his detention period is completed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2014.