KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has dismissed bail application of chief of the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee Uzair Baloch in six cases pertaining to murder, police encounter and possession of illicit weapons and explosives.
He has been facing dozens of cases pertaining to murder, attempted murder, armed attacks on law-enforcers and running extortion and criminal rackets under the alleged patronage of the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership and Sindh police high-ups.
He moved an application seeking grant of post-arrest bail in six cases registered against him and his accomplices at the Kalakot police station in 2012.
The judge of the ATC-XII, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his order on bail pleas reserved earlier after hearing arguments from both sides.
The judge dismissed the application observing that the applicant did not qualify to avail the legal concession of post-arrest bail at the present stage of the trial in the cases.
Defence counsel Abid Zaman confirmed to Dawn that the court had dismissed bail of his client in the abovementioned six cases.
However, the court had granted bail to co-accused Ameen Buledi and Abdul Ghaffar in the six cases and directed prison authorities to release them forthwith, if their custody was not required in any other case.
Defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed confirmed to Dawn that both Buledi and Ghaffar had been released from prison on bail.
According to the prosecution, Uzair Baloch, Muhammad Ramzan, Zakir Dada, Zubair Baloch, Muhammad Shahid alias MCB, Abdul Ghaffar and Ameen Buledi have been charged with engaging in encounter with law-enforcers and attacking them with firearms and explosives.
The six cases were registered against the accused under Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 395 (dacoity), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) read with Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Kalakot police station on behalf of the state.
Advocate Zaman had said that Uzair Baloch had been acquitted in around 20 criminal cases.
However, he said he could not be released from prison since he has been facing trial in around 15 identical criminal cases.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2022
