ISLAMABAD: Zubair Baloch, the brother of gangster Uzair Baloch, was seriously injured after unidentified assailants attacked him in the Lyari area of Pakistan's Karachi, local media reported, citing police.
Two passersby were also injured in the attack that took place on Chakiwara Road in Lyari. Zubair Baloch suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including to his chest and abdomen, Pakistan-based daily Dawn reported.
South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said that Zubair Baloch was sitting outside his home in Singu Lane when gunmen opened fire on him and fled from the spot.
Raza said that police were carrying out the probe from various angles, including whether the shooting was linked to gang rivalry or political enmity. He said that Zubair Baloch was arrested in seven criminal cases in 2012 and was released in 2025.
In March, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had rejected bail applications of Uzair Baloch in seven cases related to police encounter, murder and possession of explosives, Dawn reported.
Earlier in May, data released by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) revealed that Karachi witnessed a rise in street crime, with people being robbed of hundreds of vehicles and mobile phones alongside an increase in killings and extortion cases from the January-April period this year, local media reported.
During the January-April period, people in Karachi were robbed of 611 cars and 13,346 motorcycles, collectively worth millions of rupees, demonstrating the scale of vehicle-related crime in the metropolis. During the same period, 5,567 mobile phones were stolen from citizens during street crime incidents, Pakistan's another daily The Express Tribune reported.
Incidents related to violence were also reported in Karachi, with 176 people killed in various incidents of murder. Furthermore, 61 cases of extortion were reported during this period.
According to the data, 22 cars were snatched, and 111 were stolen, while 469 motorcycles were snatched and 2,723 were stolen in April alone. During the same 30-day period, 1,624 mobile phones were snatched from people, while 42 people were killed in separate incidents, The Express Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, the Police Women and Child Protection Cell has revealed that at least 388 adults and 10 minors faced domestic violence, harassment, abuse, and related crimes in Karachi from January to April this year.
--IANS
