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Rehman Dakait
Pakistani gangster (1980–2009) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abdul Rehman Baloch (Urdu: عبدالرحمن بلوچ, 1980 – 9 August 2009), known by the alias Rehman Dakait (Urdu: رحمان ڈکیت), was a Pakistani gangster based in Karachi's Lyari neighbourhood who formed the Peoples' Aman Committee which was affiliated with the Pakistan People's Party.[1] The Government of Sindh had set a reward of Rs. 5 million on his head. Rehman was accused of being involved in more than one hundred crimes. He was wanted for several serious crimes including dacoity, murder and attempted murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, and illegal arms trafficking.[2][3]
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Early life and background
Rehman was born in 1980 in Lyari, Karachi in the Pakistani province of Sindh to Haji Abu Dad Muhammad a.k.a. Dadal (an Iranian Baloch) and Khadija Bibi. Rehman was the son of his third wife.[2]
Lyari is one of the most populous, oldest and least developed localities of Karachi with the majority of the population being of Baloch origin (others include Kutchi Gujaratis, Sindhis, and Urdu-speaking Muhajirs). Lyari has been home to crime since shortly after Pakistan's independence in 1947.[4]
His father and paternal uncle, Sher Muhammad a.k.a. Sheru, were petty criminals involved in drug smuggling since 1964.[5] Ushers at Karachi cinemas, they became hashish users and got involved in the illegal drug trade themselves. They came up against Kala Nag who dominated the Lyari drug trade and underworld.[4]
In the 1970s, the rivalry between Dadal-Sheru and Kala Nag intensified but no one was killed as illegal arms hadn't yet reached Lyari. Kala Nag was later killed in a police encounter during a police chase (he jumped from a building while running from the police). Dadal and Sheru now resumed their drug peddling without major competition and naturally passed away.[6][7][4]
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Criminal activities
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Gang wars
Haji Lal Mohammad a.k.a. Haji Laloo and Iqbal "Babu" Dakait eventually came to control the Lyari underworld and different areas of the locality (often threatening local residents for loyalty). Allah Baksh alias Kala Nag II, the son of Kala Nag, joined the Babu Dakait Gang and the two worked together against Laloo. Kala Nag II was arrested in 1991 and remains imprisoned.[4]
Illegal arms entered Lyari and Karachi amid the Afghan jihad in the 1980s and petty drug peddlers now armed started extortion as another means of income with the gangwars heating up.[4] Rehman joined the Laloo Gang during this time. He had started peddling drugs from a young age and is said to have had a man stabbed when he was just 13.[1]
Haji Laloo and Babu Dakait started making hits on each other. While Babu Dakait hired Hanif Bajola, a contract killer to kill Laloo, the latter trained Rehman to kill Babu.[4]
According to the Sindh Police, Rehman killed his mother on 18 September 1995 with local news reporting that this was his first murder. Rumours say that he murdered his mother in a fit of rage; when he went to make a hit on Babu Dakait, the latter told Rehman that he had an affair with his mother and was his real father.[4][8]
Babu Dakait eventually lost four of his sons in the ensuing gangwar. In 1996, he suffered a paralytic stroke and was arrested. In the same year, Rehman Dakait and Haji Laloo's son Yasser Arafat were also arrested. Arshad Pappu, another son of Laloo, was also a Laloo Gang member but kept a low profile.[4]
Drug trade and other crimes
In 1997, Rehman escaped police custody while being taken to a court hearing. After the escape, the Laloo Gang expanded its criminal activities from drugs to extortion, contract killing and kidnapping. The Laloo Gang splintered when members started double-crossing each other in illegal deals. Haji Laloo cut Rehman out from the kidnapping ransom of Saleem Memon from Kharadar. In another instance, Faiz Mohammad a.k.a. Faizoo, a transporter and friend of Rehman, was killed by Laloo's son Arshad Pappu after he refused to pay him extortion money.[9]
After Haji Laloo's arrest in 2001, the Laloo Gang splintered into the Rehman Dakait (Lyari Gang) and Arshad Pappu gangs.[1][10]
After the split, Rehman rapidly expanded his influence outside Lyari towards Malir and Korangi and he was competing with other underworld gangs in the city (including those associated with the MQM).[2]
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Politics
Around 2008, Rehman started introducing himself as Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch and became a political figure in Lyari. He established and was the supervisor of the Peoples Aman Committee of Lyari, ostensibly to control the decades old gangwar and to ensure "peacekeeping." Though it was also involved in criminal activities including securing territorial control for Rehman's gang, extortion etc.[2]
He associated himself with the then ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP).[2] His growing power in Lyari made him influential in local Karachi politics, business circles and the PPP political structure in Karachi. The Aman Committee enjoyed political patronage of the PPP, although the party's leadership officially denied any connection.[2]
After his death, the Aman Committee was led by his relative Uzair Baloch, who further strengthened the organization in both political and criminal spheres.[2]
Arrest and death
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With the Sindh Police unable to end the gangwars, extortion and other crimes in Lyari, a designated "Industrial Crime Unit" was established in 2004 to cleanup Lyari but failed to achieve its objectives and was disbanded in November 2005. It was replaced by the "Lyari Task Force".[4]
Rehman was arrested in November, 2008 in Jinnah Town, Quetta and his arrest was followed by protests outside the Karachi Press Club.[4] He later reportedly escaped from police custody.[11]
On 9 August 2009, Rehman and his companions Aqeel Baloch, Aurangzaib Baba and Nazir Bala were again intercepted by SSP Chaudhry Aslam Khan and his police party. A shootout ensued late in the night in which Rehman and his accomplices were grievously injured. They died en-route to the hospital.[12][11][13][14] His death has been alleged to be a fake police encounter (extrajudicial killing), by SSP Chaudhry Aslam.[11][2]
After Baloch's death, the situation in Lyari became tense. Thousands of people attended his funeral in Lyari, where he is viewed as a Robin Hood-like figure rather than as a criminal (known for distributing the wealth earned from his criminal activies among the poor of Lyari).[11]
Pakistani politician Zulfiqar Mirza gave a statement in which he said that he responsible for getting Rehman killed, but at the same moment he said that he felt bad for this action.[15]
Rehman was reportedly involved in over 80 criminal cases, many of which he had been bailed out of by his mentor Haji Laloo.[4]
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Personal life
Like his father, he also married three times. The number of Rehman's children is said to be around seventeen.[2]
In popular culture
Rehman was portrayed by Akshaye Khanna in the 2025 Indian Hindi-language film Dhurandhar.[16][8][17]
References
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