Pakistan: Lyari gangster Uzair Baloch denies all murder charges

Uzair Baloch, who has been accused of committing 198 murders during the Lyari gang war, has denied all murder charges, Samaa News reported.

During an appearance in an anti-terrorism court on Monday, Baloch said that he has not recorded any confessional statement under Section 164 (power to record statements and confessions) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The judicial magistrate must have made a mistake, he claimed.

"I swear to God, I did not kill anyone," Baloch said in the court.

More than 16 cases, including the murder of gangster Arshad Pappu, who was accused of killing Baloch's father, were heard by the court. The hearing has been adjourned till the last week of July after the prosecution lawyers failed to attend the hearing.

Baloch was arrested by the Rangers on January 30, 2016.

In a statement which he now denies, he confessed to committing criminal activities such as murder, extorting money, encroaching on land, illegally occupying 14 sugar mills, harassing residents and purchasing arms.

In April 2017, Baloch's custody was handed over to the Pakistan Army after he was accused of espionage and leaking information to Iran intelligence agencies.

The Army Corps V handed him over to the police on April 6, 2020, after three years.

( With inputs from ANI )