KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has rejected bail applications of chief of the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee Uzair Baloch in seven cases pertaining to murder, police encounter and possession of explosives.
The accused filed applications through his counsel Hyder Farooq before the ATC-V judge, seeking post-arrest bail in seven cases registered at the Kalakot police station.
After hearing arguments from the prosecutor and the defence counsel at the Judicial Complex inside Central Prison, the court dismissed the pleas.
Speaking to Dawn, Advocate Farooq said that he argued before the court that the trial in the cases had been pending for more than 12 years, and that other accused persons had been granted bail.
He asked the court that bail should also be granted on statutory grounds and on the principle of consistency.
Advocate Farooq said that in the seven cases, no identification parade was conducted, adding that the police also did not recover any substantial evidence, including any crime weapons. He said that Uzair Baloch was facing trial in 11 cases before ATCs and the cases pertained to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, and encounters with law enforcers.
So far, he has been acquitted in more than two dozen cases, mainly due to a lack of evidence.
Uzair, along with others, had been charged with attacking law enforcers with firearms and explosives in 2012 within the jurisdiction of the Kalakot police station.
The seven 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) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
In April 2020, a military court had convicted Uzair Baloch of espionage and sentenced him to 12 years in jail.
Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2026
