KARACHI: Notorious leader of the Lyari gang war and chief of proscribed Peoples Amn Committee (PAC), Uzair Jan Baloch has been arrested by Pakistan Rangers in a targeted operation from the outskirts of Karachi on Saturday, officials claimed in a press release.
“Rangers arrested Baloch in a targeted operation outside Karachi late on Friday while he was attempting to enter the city,” said the press release.
After fleeing from Pakistan, Baloch was arrested on December 28, 2014 by Interpol at Dubai airport where he arrived from Muscat carrying a counterfeit Iranian passport, the Pakistani consulate in Dubai had confirmed at the time.
A four-member special police team which was in Dubai for a month to seek Baloch’s custody from UAE authorities had returned empty-handed in March 2015.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah while denying any association with Uzair Baloch in August last year hadexpressed ignorance about his status.
“He [Uzair Baloch] was caught in Dubai,” said Shah at the time. “Then our police team went there to gain his custody but it could not materialise for unknown reasons. Now I don’t know if he is still in custody in Dubai or has been released.”
It is not clear when and how Baloch arrived in Pakistan from UAE.
Uzair Baloch had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case and the court had ruled that proceedings against the offender would be conducted in absentia under Section 19 (10) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
