Military Court issues detail verdict on punishment of Lyari gangster Uzair Baloch

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Shafaqna Pakistan: A military court has awarded 12 years prison term to Karachi’s notorious criminal Uzair Baloch for ‘leaking’ sensitive information to foreign intelligence agencies. The criminal was convicted under espionage charges.

According to a news report published in The News, the jail authorities and the court police have disclosed the development. The army had taken Baloch in custody on April 2017, a year after his arrest by Rangers, to try him for espionage and leaking of sensitive information to foreign intelligence agencies, a statement from the Inter Services Public Relations had said.

“[He] was convicted by the Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Officer 1st (Self Propelled) Medium Regiment Artillery on [April, 4, 2020] in Pakistan Army Act section 59 (civil offences) read with section 3 (penalties for spying) of the Official Secret Act and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 12 years,” a letter from the SSP central jail to the SSP Court Police read.

The newspaper reported that after the announcement of verdict, the military authorities handed him over to the central prison to try him in 59 other cases, pertaining to murder, kidnapping, extortion, etc.

Earlier this month, the home authorities had transferred Baloch from central prison to the Rangers facility Mitha Ram Hostel over security concerns. Last month, his family moved the Sindh High Court challenging his conviction by the military court. His mother, Razia Begum, said that military and prisons authorities were asked for a copy of military court proceedings but it was not provided.

In January 2016, rangers had arrested Baloch from the outskirts of Karachi. Some unverified reports claimed that he was arrested earlier from Dubai with the help of Interpol. Later a joint investigation team formed to probe Uzair concluded that he was involved in spying and providing secret information about sensitive installations to the Iranian intelligence outfits.

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