Q- Who fought with police during the operation in Lyari?
A - The residents of Lyari considered the operation as an attack on them and they resisted the attack. Baloch are honorable nation and could not be bogged down through force and intimidation. This was purely a political operation carried out on the instruction of Owais Muzaffar alias Tappi. Ch Aslam, SSP CID, was the puppet who blindly followed the illegal orders of Tappi.
Q - From where you get weapons especially of prohibited bore?
A - The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) gave us the weapons to counter the vandalism and mafia-style hegemony of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, as MQM was making efforts to further its grip on Lyari. For this purpose MQM provided heavy weapons including rocket launchers and hand-grenades to our rivals, Arsahd Papoo’s group. The PPP leaders provoked the people of Lyari against the MQM and used Baloch youngsters as powders of the war of their self-interests. Hundreds of Baloch have been killed in this war and now PPP betrayed us. The PPP distributed huge cache of weapons in Baloch dominated areas of Karachi including Malir, Dalmia, Baldia, Gadap, Bin Qasim and others.
Several Baloch youngsters were involved in illegal business of drugs and gambling but they have now left such illegal activities and working as labour at different shops, hotels and on the workshops of motor mechanics. The PPP leaders gave weapons in the hands of Baloch youngsters and showed them the way of drugs smuggling. Nabeel Gabol is still supporting the smugglers and gamblers who are running their business in surrounding areas of Lyari. We have closed down gambling dens and all such types of business from the area, hence we were declared as terrorists by the PPP leadership.
Q - Are you providing shelters to the militants of Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan TTP and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)?
A - It’s totally a baseless and unfounded allegation and I reject these as rubbish. Ch Aslam is making such type of allegations just to cover up his utter failures and to revive his lost image which has been badly damaged during the police operation against the innocent people of Lyari. Ch Aslam miserably failed to come up to the expectations of Tappi and now he wanted to keep intact his relevance and worth in President House and power corridors.
Just months before the operation we were the “Jaayalas” of the PPP and were dear to them but within a span of a month have become terrorists. The PPP blamed us for sabotaging the peace of Karachi. I want to ask one thing that why the PPP took five years to declare us terrorist. Why did they not make this announcement in 2008?
We strictly condemn the anti-state elements and will provide our services against the terrorists as we did in past. The activists of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were working in this area and were trying to gain influence we activated our youngsters against the anti-state elements and forced them out of the area. If there were TTP and BLA activists working in the area then why the Rangers did not take part in the operation as Pakistan Rangers has always been active against the anti-state elements. It’s clear that the Rangers were very well aware about the issue that the operation was a politically-motivated and just to pressurize Baloch youngsters which failed completely.
Q - You were the blue-eyed of the leadership of the PPP then why such operation was conducted against you?
A - Yes, we were blue-eyed of PPP while Mohtarma Banazir Bhutto Shaheed declared us her brothers but the current leadership is working for their own interests.
Let me tell you the story behind this issue: To understand the whole situation you should be well-aware about Lyari and its surroundings. Lyari is located at a very sensitive point of the city as the main business areas are located around it while on the other side Karachi Port is located. The business area is considered as the backbone of Karachi as it generates 75 percent of total revenue of the city. This war was and has been imposed on us just to capture this area.
The PPP leadership and its allies are considering this area as best source of income. For this purpose, they are supporting the renowned criminals and Bhatta (extortion) takers like Arshad Pappo, Ghaffar Zikri, Bilal Sheikh and others. Nabeel Gabol gave idea to Tappi that billions of rupees could be generated from this area through Bhatta collection. Tappi called the leadership of Peoples Amman Committee (PAC) to Bilawal House in the second month of this year and offered us projects of 250 million rupees for Lyari. He also told us that he was going to contest the election from Lyari so we should help him.
Then he told us that the PPP needed funds to contest next elections in Karachi so we (PAC) should help the party by collecting funds from the business community of the surrounding areas but we refused. Our refusal annoyed Tappi and he threatened us to fix up. He used different pressure tactics to compel us to fall in line, but we resisted. Different leaders and manipulators of the PPP also tried to persuade us to cooperate and follow Tappi’s orders. When he (Tappi) did not get his desired response and cooperation from us for his illegal activities and desires he prepared a strategy to control Lyari. He contacted Ch Aslam, SSP CID, and assigned him the task to purge Lyari of us and presented it to our opponents. The selection of Aslam to head the operation was made due to many reasons.
Aslam was in deep waters after the Supreme Court order to demote and withdraw shoulder promotion in police department as Aslam was one of the affectees of the Supreme Court ruling. The second reason of his selection was that he has a history of fake and staged encounters. Third reason was that Aslam used to kill people for money. Tappi offered Aslam huge money and promised him to rescue him from demotion and would promote him if he accomplished the task that readied Aslam to head such an inhuman operation.
On the other hand Tappi also contacted the leadership of MQM and they were taken onboard on the operation. The MQM became part of Tappi’s plan as the MQM was already crazy about the issue so it extended its full support to Tappi. After completing the first phase of the strategy, Tappi started work on the second phase wherein he convinced President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders of the PPP with help of Nabeel Gabol and Rafeaq Engineer for the operation in Lyari. After the decision, the notorious criminals of Lyari Haji Laloo and his son Arshad Papoo were released from jail on bail.
This whole process showed that this was a politically-motivated, biased and well-planned operation against the people of Lyari. I want to tell you another thing that at different points the criminals of the MQM and Arshad Papoo were fighting along with Ch Aslam against Lyarians. Some of them were killed and shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The MQM removed their bodies from there silently. I have told media the names of those persons several times.
Q - Are you running illegal business of drugs, extortion, gambling and weapons smuggling?
A - I have earlier stated that some of our youngsters were involved in such type of illegal activities. The PPP leadership did not restrain them by providing jobs and education to the youth of Lyari rather showed them the way of crime. Nabeel Gabol, Rafeeq Engineer and other leaders used the youngsters for their own interests. But now the situation has completely changed. Now, the Lyari youngsters are running their own businesses like shops, hotels, game-clubs and others. A large number of boys are taking interest in the games like football and boxing as these have been the traditional sports of the area. We are supporting and encouraging them in such positive activities and extending assistance. Sports and cultural festival are being arranged by the PAC. The Peoples Amman Committee installed computer labs and air conditioners in the schools. More than 500 computers were installed in 12 Girls and 8 Boys schools of the area by the PAC on its own. We continue the mission of Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch as he had created a fund for the 25 students of Lyari. Under the fund, 25 Baloch youngsters, 15 girls and 10 boys, go for higher education in any part of the country especially to Lahore and the PAC bears the full expenses.
Q - Are you making attacks on NATO supply line?
A - Why will we attack on NATO vehicles as we have no interests in them? Tell me any single instance wherein any NATO vehicle came under attack in Lyari or even in the surrounding areas. It’s totally a baseless and wrong allegation just to malign us. The MQM militant wing and its affiliate criminals group attacks NATO containers. They are generating millions of rupees through the attack and sending the same to London. We can produce lot evidence and clues linking the attacks with MQM. And the other point is that the Pakistan secret agencies have their strong network in Lyari so how this kind of activities could be carried out in their presence.
Q - What has your experience with PPP Nabeel Gabol been like?
A - Nabeel Gabool has been playing with the emotions of Lyari people. He made a lot of promises with the voters but never tried to fulfill them. He gave weapons to the youth of Lyari and showed them the way of illegal businesses like drugs, smuggling and others. Gabool also offered the leadership of Peoples Amman Committee huge money to support him in his illegal activities. After winning 2008 elections, Gabool never visited his constituency which annoyed people of Lyari. Now as next general elections are approaching near, Gabool is once again trying to enter the area after a gap of four years but the people have rejected him. In another scandal Nabeel Gabool and Tappi earned more than billion rupees and they minted 1.700 billion rupees through corruption in development projects of Lyari.
Both betrayed the people of Lyari. On papers of Lyari Development Package, five wells have been constructed in Lyari but on ground they are nowhere in the area. Gabool also pocketed hundreds of millions of rupees in job scandal. The PPP offered hundreds of jobs for Lyari people but Gabool sold those posts at hefty prices. Our experience of working with is very bad so the people of Lyari will never elect Gabool again from this area even he can not enter the area due to anger of people. The PPP current leadership always supported corrupt persons and Gabool is a ‘cheater’ person as he is going to join the MQM in next few days. Our reliable persons told us that Nabeel Gabool had met Sindh Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad and another leader of MQM Haider Abbas Rzvi. Gabool had one-on-one meeting with Rizvi in his house and all formalities have been completed. After an expected meeting with the leader of MQM, Altaf Hussain, in London, Nabeel Gabool will make announcement about joining the MQM.
Q - What would you say about the priorities of Karachi police and Ch Aslam?
A - It is an open secret that hundreds of appointments in Karachi police have been made on political basis that is the biggest reason of the continued and unabated targeted killings in the port city. The officers who got postings and promotions through political links are working for their patrons instead of working for peace of the city. We believed that the political appointees in police are working as the informers of the MQM. Karachi police is completely working on the instructions of the MQM as not a single posting could be made without MQM’s approval and green-signal. The important police posts and some 48 police stations are directly under the influence the MQM. Sindh government and Home Department are completely dysfunctional due to the MQM’s involvement. We consider Karachi police as armed-wing of the MQM and trust only Pakistan Rangers therefore I offered to surrender before Pakistan Rangers instead of police during the operation.
Now it has proved that Ch Aslam is puppet of the MQM, he got promotions through staging fake encounters. In Karachi operation of 1992, Ch Aslam killed several activists of the MQM. Then he staged dozens of fake encounters in the city and killed innocent citizens dubbing them as criminals. In 2003, Ch Aslam tendered apology for his involvement in killing of the MQM activists and got reinstated. He was arrested by police in murder of a farmer in interior Sindh but after he compromised with the heirs, the case was abolished. So Chaudhry is clearly a target killer of the MQM in uniform.
Q - How are your relations with Zulfiqar Mirza today? Does he still support the PAC?
A - Zulfiqar Mirza supported us in the past but now he is out of screen. He did not make any contact with us during the recent operation but I think he is our silent supporter. I could not say anything else till I got the clear opinion of Mirza about this operation.
Q - What will you say about role of the MQM in city’s politics?
A - It is very clear that the MQM is not a political party; it is a mafia that controls the city in the same manner. The MQM has different wings in its organizational structure. Its so-called political wing blackmailed government to secure their illegal activities. A large number of terrorists of the MQM got training in other countries like India, Sri Lanka etc. The fact has been proved in the reports of Joint Interrogations Teams (JIT). The influential personalities including Munawar Saharwardi, Aslam Mujahid and other political leaders along with Ulema of different sects were killed by the killers of the MQM. The incidents of May 12, 2007, April 9, 2009 and other several incidents showed that MQM terrorists were behind the killing innocent citizens.
Q - Your comments of Mohajir Sobba (province) Movement?
A - It’s a conspiracy being hatched by the MQM. The situation may take a horrible turn because the MQM wants a separate province which is a baseless demand. Baloch are living in this city for years and according to MQM leaders’ views, they should also make a demand for a separate province. No one can divide Sindh because Sindh is only of Sindhis. We all thank to Sindhis as they accepted us and established brotherhood with us. We will support Sindhis in this issue and are standing behind them in all efforts which will be made to end this movement.
It is a planning of the MQM to kill innocent Sindhis as they did in the Sindh Amman Rally on 22nd May. A wing named Mohajir Liberation Army has been created in this regard, having large number of MQM’s trained activists.
Q - Will you contest next election from Lyari?
A - The people of Lyari will decide that who will be their next representative. If they think that I am able for this responsibility then I will try to meet their expectations.
At the end of this interview, Uzair Baloch made a visit to Lyari Market at Art Chowk and inaugurated a musical academy named ‘Zobi Musical Academy’. Than he met with the people who gathered there and were chanting slogans in favour of Uzair Baloch and against Nabeel Gabool and the PPP.
