Uzair Jan Baloch (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

crime lord A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

originally from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Pakistan. He was a key figurehead of

underworld and notorious gang war in his hometown,

Lyari Lyari (Urdu: ; sd, لیاري) is a historic locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the most densely-populated part of Karachi, and is one of its earliest settled areas.Sarwat Viqar (2014) Constructing Lyari: place, governance and identity in a Kar ...

, at his peak around 2012. Baloch is accused in various cases involving murder, extortion, drug trafficking, terrorism, and after being arrested many times, became a fugitive wanted by law enforcement agencies. Due to his influential ties, it is alleged that Baloch enjoyed political patronage and was "protected" by the ruling PPP from facing charges but was eventually nabbed after intervention of federal authorities. Baloch denies all the charges against him and says they are "politically motivated". He is also the former chief of the Peoples Aman Committee, which was a militant group linked to the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP). In September 2013, Baloch fled to

Chabahar Chābahār ( fa, چابهار, bal, چھبار, čahbàr; ; formerly ''Bandar Beheshtī'') is the capital city of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. It is a free port (free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf of ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, after the

Sindh Rangers The Sindh Rangers (formally Pakistan Rangers Sindh) ( ur, ) is a paramilitary federal law enforcement corps in Pakistan. It is one of nine Civil Armed Forces and is one of two Ranger corps' with the other one being the Punjab Rangers, which ...

launched a crackdown in Karachi against elements of organised crime. A dual

ian citizen, where he was contacted by Iran's

VAJA Vaja is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it i ...

, to provide information on Pakistan's security apparatus and the political situation in Karachi. He moved onwards to

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and in December 2015, he was arrested by the

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

while still in hiding. Uzair then reappeared in Karachi, only to be arrested by the Rangers during a targeted operation. That same year, the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

took suo moto notice of his involvement in the murder of gangster Arshad Pappu, bringing his activities into attention.

Early life

Uzair Jan Baloch was born on 11 January 1979 in Lyari, Karachi. His father, Faiz Muhammad (known as Mama Faizu), was a transporter who originated from Iran's Sistan and Balochistan province. Some members of his family live in Iran and hold dual Iranian-Pakistani citizenship. In 2006, Uzair fled to Iran while escaping an operation against Lyari's street gangs. There, he obtained an

Iranian passport Iranian passports, also known as Persian passports, are issued to nationals of Iran for the purpose of international travel. The passport serves as a proof of Iranian citizenship. The Iranian passports are burgundy, with the Iranian emblem embla ...

and

national identity card National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In around 2010, his Iranian documents expired and he renewed them. Baloch started off his career in politics as an independent candidate in the 2001 municipal elections for Lyari's mayorship, but lost to Habib Hassan of the Pakistan People's Party. In 2003, his father was kidnapped for ransom and brutally murdered by Arshad Pappu, son of the Lyari drug lord Haji Lalu. This is said to have marked Uzair's foray into

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, as he set out to avenge his father's murder. He initially pursued his father's murder case in courts, but received threats from Lalu's gang. Arshad Pappu happened to be a rival of gangster

Rehman Dakait Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch alias Rehman Dakait ( ur, ) was a Pakistani gangster based in Karachi's Lyari neighbourhood who formed the Peoples' Aman Committee. In urban Karachi, he is a mythical figure from the feared but not talked about underworl ...

, Uzair's first cousin, with the two involved in a bitter conflict over land and drugs in Lyari. His cousin Rehman invited him to join his gang, and while Uzair initially refused, he later acquiesced as they shared a common enemy. Members of the two gangs started killing each other, with casualties reaching the hundreds. In 2009, Dakait was killed during a shootout with police and Uzair Baloch took over his gang. In 2013, Arshad Pappu and his brother Yasir Arafat were eventually kidnapped by Uzair's gang, tortured and beheaded. Their corpses were paraded before being burnt, and the ashes dumped in a sewer. Uzair Baloch and his associate Baba Ladla reportedly played football with the severed heads. ''

The Friday Times ''The Friday Times'' (TFT) is a Pakistani English-language independent newsweekly, based in Lahore, Pakistan. History and profile ''The Friday Times'' was first published in May 1989. TFT's founder-editor Najam Sethi and publisher Jugnu Mohsin ...

'' quoted Baloch as having said: "It is karma – what goes around comes around", referring to the avenging of his father's murder.

Activities and arrests

In 2003, Uzair was arrested by a Sindh police SP Chaudhry Aslam but was later released on bail due to his links with politicians. After the encounter of Rehman Dakait, Uzair became the new gang leader and was involved in many criminal activities. He also became chief of Peoples Aman Committee. Uzair also had links with

and was protected by PPP until 2012. In June 2014,

Sindh Government The Government of Sindh ( sd, حڪومت سنڌ) ( ur, ) is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions un ...

issued his red warrants and head money of Rs.2 million. He was wanted for more than 50 cases of extortions, target killings of policemen and gang members. Uzair left

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

after his red warrants were issued. On 29 December 2015, he was arrested by

from

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport ( ar, مطار دبي الدولي) is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the nineteenth-busies ...

. He was taken into custody by

and was brought back to

. He was travelling from

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

. On January 30, 2016,

took Uzair into custody after getting his physical remand from

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...

's administrative judge for the Anti Terrorism Courts. He was in Mithadar hostel,

under the custody of

. In February 2016, Uzair's wife Samina Baloch filed application in the

to seek orders for his medical examination and permission for his family members to meet him. On April 7, 2020, Uzair Baloch was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and sent to the Central Jail Karachi after the completion of a military trial against him.

Total assets

According to Pakistani media reports, Uzair Baloch owns a four-story mansion in Lyari with an indoor swimming pool, in addition to a house worth 1.1 million dirhams in Dubai, an office in

Dubai International City Dubai International City is a country-themed collection of residences, businesses, and tourist attractions. Spreading over an area of 800 hectares (8 million square meters), the arrangement of the city is inspired by the traditional carpets of the ...

worth 0.5 million dirhams, a bungalow and plot in

worth 0.9 million and 0.6 million dirhams respectively, and a property in

worth Rs. 10 million. The properties are registered under the names of his close relatives or friends. He also has four bank accounts in Dubai holding over 1 million dirhams, and acres of land in

Chakiwara Chakiwara ( ur, چاکیواڑا ) is a neighbourhood locality in Lyari, located in the Karachi South district of Karachi, Pakistan. The area gets its name from the Chakee, a community of Gujarati Muslims. Chakiwara derives its name as the ...

and Hub worth several millions of rupees. He also has the most expensive weapons and rifles in Pakistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baloch, Uzair 1979 births Baloch people Living people Iranian people of Pakistani descent Pakistan People's Party politicians Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Pakistani gangsters Pakistani people of Iranian descent People from Lyari Town Politicians from Karachi