Zubair Baloch, brother of jailed gangster Uzair Baloch, critically wounded in Karachi drive-by shooting

Zubair Baloch — the brother of jailed Pakistan gangster Uzair Baloch, whose ruthless ascent was dramatised in the movie ‘Dhurandhar’ — is learned to be critically wounded following a targeted drive-by shooting in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood on Thursday evening.

The 40-year-old was sitting outside his Singu Lane home when two masked assailants on a motorcycle opened fire, striking him in the chest and abdomen. Zubair was rushed to Civil Hospital Karachi for emergency surgery. Two bystanders were also injured in the crossfire, with one reported to be in serious condition.

According to Pakistan police, the attackers fled after a nearby shopkeeper returned fire. CCTV footage from the spot, which surfaced on Telegram channels, showed chaos on the street as the gunmen escaped. Police told the local press they were probing angles of personal enmity and the potential resurgence of long-standing gang wars.

Zubair, arrested in multiple criminal cases in 2012, was released from prison last year, while his brother Uzair remains in jail serving a 12-year sentence handed down by a military court. Uzair and several accomplices were indicted for a 2012 armed attack on law enforcement officers under Kalakot police station’s jurisdiction. In April 2020, Uzair Baloch received a 12-year prison sentence for espionage.

For decades, the historic Karachi neighbourhood of Lyari served as the epicentre of a gang war and a hub of organised crime. The turmoil traces back to early turf battles over drug trade routes and extortion rackets, which eventually expanded into a high-stakes proxy war involving major political factions. Notorious figures such as Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch aka Rehman Dakait and his fierce rival Arshad Pappu turned narrow alleyways into battlegrounds, leveraging strategic political patronage through outfits like Peoples’ Aman Committee to insulate their syndicates from police oversight. Following Rehman Dakait’s death in a 2009 police encounter, his cousin Uzair Baloch stepped in to control the dominant faction.