Uzair Baloch acquitted in 15 year old police encounter, murder case

KARACHI: Sessions court acquitted Uzair Baloch, the leader of the outlawed Peoples Aman Committee, and his associate, Gaffar Mama, in a 15-year-old police encounter and attempted murder case due to insufficient evidence.

The additional district and sessions judge (South), who conducted the trial at the judicial complex within the central prison, determined that the prosecution had not proven the charges against Uzair Baloch and Gaffar Mama.

The court cleared them under Section 295-H (i) of the criminal procedure code and instructed the jail authorities to release Uzair Baloch if he was not held on other charges.

According to the prosecution, in August 2009, the police received a tip that Abdul Rehman, alias Rehman Dakait, and his accomplices were traveling in three vehicles. Acting on this information, the police pursued the cars, and when they attempted to stop them, the occupants opened fire.

In the resulting gunfight, Rehman Dakait, Aurangzeb, Nazeer Baloch, and Aqeel Ahmed Baloch were killed, while Uzair Baloch and others in one of the cars managed to escape.

The prosecution claimed that before his death, Aurangzeb told the police that Uzair Baloch and other accomplices were in the car that escaped. However, defense counsel Safdar Hussain argued that Aurangzeb’s post-mortem report, showing he was shot ten times including twice in the neck, suggested he could not have made a statement at the scene.

The defense also pointed out discrepancies between the time recorded in the police statement and the time of death noted in the autopsy report.

A case was filed at the Steel Town police station under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant), 324 (attempted murder), 186 (obstructing a public servant), and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Uzair Baloch is facing numerous charges, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, and encounters with law enforcement. He has been acquitted in over two dozen cases primarily due to insufficient evidence.