KARACHI: The report released by Federal Minister Ali Zaidi of a joint investigation team (JIT) that had grilled outlawed Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Jan Baloch contained startling disclosures that the Lyari gangster had extended criminal support to key figures of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Haider Zaidi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had on Tuesday shared with the media in Islamabad the JIT report of Uzair Baloch alleging that the PPP had deliberately manipulated the original report — a charge the PPP ministers vehemently denied the same day and instead questioned the authenticity and source of the document.

According to the JIT report shared by Mr Zaidi, Uzair was “supervised” by key political figures for “killings, extortion, land grabbing etc”.

The JIT said he told investigators that the key political figures of the PPP had also managed to withdraw a Sindh home department notification that put a bounty on his arrest after a botched operation in Lyari in 2012.

The disclosures are part of a JIT report released by PTI’s Ali Zaidi

He also disclosed that the same key figures helped him leave Pakistan after the launch of a targeted operation in Karachi in 2013.

He told the JIT that the PPP leadership had awarded party ticket to the candidates he nominated for contesting 2013 general elections from Lyari.

Read: Faryal's patronage and Zardari's job offers: 10 takeaways from PTI minister's 'original' Uzair Baloch JIT

Links with Iran, Sindh police

Uzair also told the JIT that he was detained in Iran and got released with the help of one Haji Nasir, who arranged his meeting with an unknown Iranian intelligence officer.

He said that key figures of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had also met with Haji Nasir in Chabahar, Iran in June 2014 where an unknown Iranian officer was also present.

He said that with the help of the then home minister he managed to get postings of not only Lyari SP but also of several SHOs in different police stations.

He told the JIT that differences between the PPP and PAC had emerged after the resignation of the then home minister but two key political figures of the PPP had played their role in settling the issues.

About the Arshad Pappu murder, he said that with the help of certain police officers he killed the rival gangsters in order to take revenge of the killing of his father.

After Pappu’s killing, he became the “undisputed criminal king” of Lyari in 2013.

In the meantime, PAC gangsters had developed an internal rift allegedly engineered by a former MQM MNA. Resultantly, one of the main characters of Lyari gang warfare, Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, established his separate group but the gang led by Uzair maintained the upper hand.

The JIT recommended that Uzair had ‘confessed’ to his involvement in certain cases and named political personalities and those crimes/cases were cognizable before the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and Anti-Encroachment Cell.

Besides, lodging fresh FIRs/cases against him, the JIT recommended that Uzair and his accomplices be handed over to the authorities concerned for initiating legal action.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2020