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  • Pakistani mafia kingpin spied for Iran in 2014 — investigation report


Pakistani mafia kingpin spied for Iran in 2014 — investigation report

In this file photo, Uzair Baloch flanked by Rangers personnel in Karachi in January 2016. (Photo courtesy: EPA)
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Updated 10 July 2020
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Pakistani mafia kingpin spied for Iran in 2014 — investigation report

  • Uzair Jan Baloch, long on the run from Pakistani authorities, was arrested by Interpol from Dubai in 2014
  • Karachi Central Jail correspondence shows a military court convicted Baloch for espionage and sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment this April
Updated 10 July 2020
Naimat Khan

KARACHI: An investigation report released by Pakistan’s provincial government in Sindh this week has said a Pakistani ganglord, long suspected of building a business empire through extortion, kidnapping and drugs, had confessed to spying for Iranian intelligence agencies in 2014. 

Uzair Jan Baloch was also convicted for spying this April by a military court and sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to a June 13 letter written by the senior superintendent of Karachi Central Jail to an anti-terrorism court that had ordered Baloch to be produced before it. A copy of the letter is available with Arab News, though the Pakistan military could not be reached to confirm if Baloch had indeed been convicted by an army tribunal. 

Baloch, for years considered close to politicians within Sindh’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is currently nominated in at least 59 criminal cases, according to police records, and is being held at a makeshift jail at the Karachi office of the paramilitary Rangers force. The PPP denies it currently has any links to the gang leader. 

In 2016, Baloch was interrogated by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising representatives of police, Rangers, and a number of civilian and military intelligence agencies during which officials say he confessed that he had spied for Iran and was involved in 59 acts of murder, kidnapping, extortion and attacks on law enforcement.

According to the report, Baloch had told the investigation team that he obtained a fake Iranian birth certificate in the late 1980s and an Iranian identity card and passport in 2006.

The report details how Baloch met a man named Hajji Nasir in Iran’s Chabahar city in 2014, who offered to arrange his meeting with Baloch and Iranian intelligence officers. 

“On the consent of the accused a meeting with Iranian intelligence officers was arranged by Hajji Nasir in which the accused was asked to provide certain information about [Pakistan] armed forces officials,” the JIT report, which is publicly available, said. 

It added: “The accused is found involved in espionage activities by providing secret informations/sketches regarding Army installations and officials to foreign agents (Iranian intelligence officers) which is a violation of Official Secrets Act, 1923.”

Ahmad Mohammadi, Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Karachi, did not comment on the Baloch case in an email sent to Arab News in response to queries for this piece, but said Iran “defined and arranged it’s relationship with Pakistan in accordance with mutual respect and mutual benefits.”

“Tehran emphasises on essential and urgent need of removing any possible misunderstanding which mainly happens due to the deceptive and malicious efforts of third parties. For sure, developing relations between Tehran and Islamabad don’t comply with their desire,” the consul general’s email said. 

For years, Baloch thrived in Sindh’s teeming capital of Karachi, a key figurehead in the city’s notorious gang wars. However, in 2006 he fled to Iran to escape an operation against street gangs in Lyari, one of Karachi’s most dangerous neighborhoods at the time. 

He returned to Pakistan for a number of years during which he even contested in a local government election but once again escaped to Iran in 2013 when Pakistan’s powerful paramilitary Rangers launched an armed operation to bring down Karach’s soaring crime rates.

Baloch is believed to have also lived in Oman briefly before being arrested by Interpol in Dubai in December 2014. 

In January 2016, Rangers announced that they had taken Baloch into custody in Karachi, an arrest that surprised many who had thought he was already in jail after being detained in Dubai. 

The JIT report said after Baloch confessed to spying for Iran, he was handed over to the Pakistani military to be tried “under Pakistan Army Act for his Involvement in espionage activities which falls under the Official Secrets Act 1923.”

In a Twitter post on April 12, 2017, the head of the Pakistani military’s media wing said Baloch had been taken into custody under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act. However, the army has not revealed any details of his subsequent trial before a military court, nor made a verdict public. 

But a letter written by the senior superintendent of the Karachi Central Prison in response to an anti-terrorism court order that Baloch appear before it for hearings in a number of cases says he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in April this year after being convicted for spying.

The letter, dated June 13, said: 

“[Uzair Ali] was convicted by the Lt. Col. Commanding Officer 1st (Self Propelled) Medium Regiment Artillery on April, 4, 2020 in Pakistan Army Act section 59 (civil offenses) read with section 3 (penalties for spying) of the Official Secret Act and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 12 years.” 

Pakistan’s military courts hold secretive trails but verdicts are often publicly announced by the army’s media wing, called ISPR.

Arab News sent written queries to ISPR about Baloch’s conviction but did not receive a response. Sindh Home Secretary Usman Chachar also did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment, and a spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign office did not reply to text messages asking whether Pakistan had taken up the issue of Baloch’s confessed espionage with Iran. 

Topics: Pakistan Iran uzair baloch

Pakistani driver bags first-ever top 4 finish at Dubai Nations Cup

Updated 54 min 24 sec ago
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Pakistani driver bags first-ever top 4 finish at Dubai Nations Cup

  • Enaam Ahmed, 24, was born to Pakistani parents in London, started racing on Go-Kart tracks at age eight
  • Ahmed became a British Formula Champion at 12 and a European and World Champion at the age of 14
Updated 54 min 24 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: British-Pakistani racer Enaam Ahmed achieved a ground-breaking milestone this week by securing Pakistan’s first-ever top 4 finish at the Nations Cup in the Dubai 12-Hour Endurance Karting Race.
Ahmed, 24, was born to Pakistani parents in London where he started racing on Go-Kart tracks while he was eight. His passion grew with time, and he ultimately became the British Formula Champion at 12 and a European and World Champion at the age of 14. He is currently in the American Formula 3 league, before which he was car racing in the British Formula 3 and became a champion at 17.
For the Dubai tournament, Ahmed told Pakistan’s Geo News he chose the “two most talented drivers from Pakistan” to make team Pakistan, namely Maz Chughtai and Shamiq Saeed. 
In the qualifying round, Pakistan managed to secure 2nd place in the Nations Cup and 4th overall against 30 of the best endurance teams from around the world. Team Pakistan then delivered a historic top-4 finish, but also won over archrivals India with an impressive 9-lap lead even after dropping to 30th place due to an unlucky puncture. 
“It’s an honor to represent Pakistan and to achieve this milestone alongside my teammates,” he told reporters. “We worked tirelessly to make our country proud, and to also secure a commanding victory over India adds an extra layer of satisfaction to our accomplishment … This victory not only underscores Pakistan’s prowess in motorsports but also opens a new chapter whereby a new generation of drivers will be inspired.”
Speaking to Arab News in an interview in 2022, Ahmed said what inspired him was a desire to “change the way the world perceives our country [Pakistan] and the Muslim world, in terms of sports.”
“Representing the country [Pakistan] is what gives me the power, what gives me the motivation to succeed ... What keeps me going is this burning ambition to prove that we can be the best.”
While Ahmed has traveled and raced in some top teams and against some of the best drivers in the world, he also had to face racism initially as a rare person of color alongside the black British driver, Lewis Hamilton, who had inspired him to enter the profession in the first place. Ahmed has also found it difficult to find good sponsors, which he said was the reason he missed the chance of getting into Formula 2 in Europe.
“There were moments when I didn’t want to give up but it was looking like I would have to give up because there was no option,” he said. “There were some situations when I didn’t have a sponsor one week before a race, but I always found a way.”
Despite the odds, there has been no looking back for Ahmed, who has never lost a race and always finishes in the top three.
“I have always done things to be the best or nothing,” he said. “I don’t do things just to take part or come second or third. I am here to win.”
Speaking about his special connection with Pakistan, he said he was “put on this earth to race for Pakistan and become a champion.”
“I have two biggest motivations: One is to make my country proud and raise the flag of Pakistan the highest it has ever been, and to relieve my parents, my family of work.”
Ahmed is also on the Road to Indy series, a racecar driver development program that provided a scholarship-funded path to reach the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500.

Topics: Formula 1

Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM

Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM

  • Sharif says exports and remittances had shown a rise within one-and-a-half month of his government
  • Pakistan’s finance ministry expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the current fiscal year ending June
Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic indicators are showing positive signs, with an agenda of painful reforms and privatization on track, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday, ahead of an IMF board meeting to decide on a $1.1 billion funding for the country.
The prime minister said, in an address to his cabinet that was telecast live, that exports and remittances had shown a rise within one-and-a-half month of his government.
The IMF board is meeting on Monday to decide on the disbursement of the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement Islamabad secured last summer to avert a sovereign default.
With a chronic balance of payment crisis, Pakistan needs $24 billion in payments for debt and interest servicing in the next fiscal year starting July 1 — three-time more than its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
The South Asian nation is seeking yet another long-term, larger IMF loan. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has said Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
If successful, it would be the 24th IMF bailout for Pakistan.
The IMF-led structural reforms require Pakistan to raise its tax to GDP ratio from around 9 percent to at least 13 percent-14 percent, stop losses in state-owned enterprise and manage its energy sector losses which run into trillions of rupees.
“It is not just for an antibiotic to work anymore. It needs a surgery,” Sharif said.
Pakistan’s finance ministry expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the current fiscal year ending June, while average inflation is projected to stand at 24 percent, down from 29.2 percent in fiscal year 2023/2024.
Inflation soared to a record high of 38 percent last May.

Pakistan joins calls by UN for ‘credible investigation’ into mass graves discovery in Gaza

Updated 26 April 2024
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Pakistan joins calls by UN for ‘credible investigation’ into mass graves discovery in Gaza

  • Palestinian authorities say mass graves at Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals contain hundreds of bodies
  • Pakistan says “independent and impartial investigation” must fix responsibility and punish perpetrators 
Updated 26 April 2024
Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday it joined the United Nations in calling for a “transparent and credible” investigation into the discovery of mass graves at two major hospitals in Gaza where over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October. 
The discovery of the mass graves, said by Palestinian authorities to contain hundreds of bodies, have triggered calls by the UN rights chief and others for an international investigation. While not defined under international law, a mass grave is a burial site containing multiple bodies, the existence of which could be important in detecting possible war crimes.
Palestinian authorities said a grave site discovered at the Nasser hospital, the main medical facility in central Gaza, contained nearly 400 bodies. It was uncovered after Israeli troops pulled out of the city of Khan Younis.
Another grave site was also found by Palestinian authorities at the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which had been targeted by an Israeli special forces operation. 
“Pakistan joins the calls by the United Nations for a clear, transparent and credible investigation of mass graves and the massacre of men, women and children by the Israeli occupation forces,” the foreign office spokesperson said at a weekly briefing in Islamabad.
“An independent and impartial investigation must be held to ascertain the facts, fix responsibility and punish the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“We urge the international community, especially the backers of Israel to take urgent measures to bring an end to the war on the people of Gaza. Lift the siege, protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian assistance and to hold to account the perpetrator of Gaza genocide.”
Currently, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has an active investigation into the attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 by Hamas and the response by the Israeli military.
The office of the prosecutor has jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories, but has not made any public comments about the discovery of mass graves.
Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a signatory, parties to a conflict must take all possible measures to prevent the dead from “being despoiled.” Customary international humanitarian law (IHL) calls for the dead to be respected, including a duty to prevent despoiling of graves and ensuring the identification and proper burial of human remains.
IHL also prohibits mutilation, desecration and other forms of disrespect toward the dead, while parties should take measures to protect grave sites, including those containing multiple human remains.
In 2002, in a case related to killings of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli Defense Ministry was responsible under international law “for the location, identification, evacuation, and burial of the bodies” of Palestinians killed in fighting. The judges said bodies should not be buried in mass graves but handed over to the Palestinian authorities.
The International Criminal Court’s founding Rome Statute defines the desecration or mutilation of dead bodies as a war crime and this is banned as an outrage upon personal dignity.
Allegations by Palestinian authorities that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had buried the bodies were “baseless and unfounded,” the IDF said in a statement. The graves were dug by Palestinians, it said, releasing footage showing the graves pre-dated IDF operations.
IDF forces searching for Israeli hostages had examined bodies buried near Nasser hospital and then returned them, the IDF said. 
“The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased,” it said.
With inputs from Reuters

Topics: War on Gaza

China says will continue investments in Pakistan after deadly suicide bombing

Updated 26 April 2024
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China says will continue investments in Pakistan after deadly suicide bombing

  • On Mar. 26, suicide bomber hit a convoy of Chinese engineers working on Dasu hydropower project
  • Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack in northwestern Pakistan
Updated 26 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), Luo Zhaohui, said Beijing will continue to work with Pakistan to fulfill commitments made under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Global Development Initiative, Pakistani state news agency APP reported on Friday.
Luo’s statement comes a month after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project at Dasu in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.
The assault on Mar. 26 was the third major attack in little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested more than $65 billion in infrastructure projects as part of its wider Belt and Road initiative.
Chinese contractors suspended work on three hydropower projects in view of security concerns after the March attack, government officials told media last month.
“China is ready to work with Pakistan to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, further, deepen strategic mutual trust, and promote practical cooperation in various fields within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Global Development Initiative,” APP quoted Luo as saying.
“In his meetings with friends from various sectors during a recent visit to Pakistan, he hoped that friends from all walks of life would continue to exert their influence, and offer advice and suggestions for the development of bilateral relations.”
During the meetings, according to APP, Lou thanked Pakistani officials for “their long-standing contributions to China-Pakistan friendly cooperation, emphasizing the increasingly significant strategic importance of accelerating comprehensive cooperation between China and Pakistan and leading regional development trends.”
The Pakistani side expressed condolences over the Dasu attack and “highly praised the enduring traditional friendship” between Pakistan and China and their cooperation in various fields.
“They added that Pakistan will continue to support the development of Pakistan-China relations, advance exchanges on state governance, and expand friendly exchanges between the two countries in various sectors, including between governments, parliaments, business communities, think tanks, youth, and civil society,” APP said.
The Mar. 26 bombing followed a Mar. 20 attack on a strategic port used by China in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where Beijing has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects, and a Mar. 25 assault on a naval air base, also in the southwest. Both attacks were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan.
Dasu, the site of a major dam, has been attacked in the past, with a bus blast in 2021 killing 13 people, nine Chinese among them, although no group claimed responsibility, like the Mar. 26 bombing.
Pakistan is home to twin insurgencies, one mounted by religiously-motivated militants and the other by ethnic separatists who seek secession, blaming the government’s inequitable division of natural resources in southwestern Balochistan province.
Chinese interests are under attack primarily by ethnic militants seeking to push Beijing out of mineral-rich Balochistan, but that area is far from the site of the Mar. 26 bombing.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

Pakistan central bank expected to hold rates on Monday ahead of IMF deal

Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan central bank expected to hold rates on Monday ahead of IMF deal

  • Median estimate in Reuters poll predicts State Bank will hold rates steady
  • South Asian nation is seeking new long-term, larger IMF bailout program
Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is widely expected to hold its key interest rate at a record 22 percent for the seventh straight policy meeting on Monday as Pakistan gears up for an International Monetary Fund board approval and talks on a longer term program.
Monday’s policy decision will be followed by the fund’s executive board meeting to discuss the approval of $1.1 billion in funding for Pakistan, which is the last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF secured last summer to avert a sovereign default.
The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 14 analysts predicts the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will hold rates steady.
Four analysts are forecasting a 100-basis-point (bps) cut, while two expect a 50-bps cut on Monday.
Eight respondents expect a rate cut before Pakistan signs a new program with the IMF. There is another MPC meeting on 10 June 2024, which is possibly before Pakistan gets another IMF Programme.
The South Asian nation is seeking a new long-term, larger IMF loan. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has said Islamabad will begin talks with the fund next month, and could secure a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
Pakistan’s key rate was last raised in June to fight persistent inflationary pressures and to meet one of the conditions set by the IMF for securing the bailout.
Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March rose 20.7 percent from the year before, slowing down partly due to the “base effect,” touching a record high of 38 percent in May 2023.
Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited said that the central bank is unlikely to cut rates before getting a new IMF program. “The monetary policy will also consider the inflationary outcome of tensions in the middle east and its impact of fuel prices, along with the Fed’s delay in monetary easing,” he added.
“Expect a symbolic reduction in the current quarter (till June), with aggressive cuts to follow in the September quarter as the government has to roll over approximately 6.7 trillion rupees of maturing domestic treasury bills in the last quarter of the calendar year,” said Mustafa Pasha, CIO of Lakson Investments.
He added that by then there will be greater clarity on inflation and FX inflows. “Historically the SBP has cut rates in the 1st year of an IMF program and we expect the policy rate to settle around 17 percent by December.”

Topics: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

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