Black Pathan suit, black blazer and black shades - Akshaye Khanna, who plays Baloch gangster Rehman Dacoit in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, comes into the frame and steals the show in a dance scene that has now gone viral.

Akshaye Khanna's screen presence is so powerful that many people overlook lead actor Ranveer Singh in this scene. The violent scenes featuring Akshaye Khanna are attention-grabbing, but many claim they are nothing compared to the real-life exploits of Rehman Daku, who ruled Lyari, a less developed town in Karachi, Pakistan, and is now in the news in India thanks to Dhurandhar.

Lyari's world

Lyari, located on the edge of the dirt, is one of Karachi's most densely populated areas. A settlement of Sindhi fishermen and Baloch nomads dating back to the 1700s, it is actually older than Karachi itself. Over time, other social groups have also joined Lyari, contributing to its population of approximately 900,000 people (as of the 2023 census).

Historically, the city has suffered from administrative negligence in terms of urban planning and civic amenities. Poverty and lack of development made it a hotbed of crime. Lyari became known for its gangs and gangsters, who ruled it like their fiefdom. Over time, this notoriety has been somewhat mitigated by law enforcement efforts.

Interestingly, the name "Lyari" comes from the "lyar" tree, which grows in graveyards. This area has been the site of numerous graves dating back to the days of gang warfare. It was in this Lyari world that Rahman Dakat was born.

Rise of rehman dacoit

In 1980, a son was born to drug smugglers Dad Muhammad and Khadija Bibi. The child, who later identified himself as Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch, began selling drugs in his teens. It is said that at the age of 13, he stabbed a man. Two years later, he allegedly murdered his mother, reportedly because she had ties to a rival gang.

Whether the rumors of his mother's murder were true or not, Rehman's reputation was growing. His dangerous crimes earned him the nickname Rehman the Dacoit. As Akshaye Khanna says in Dhurandhar, "The death of Rehman the Dacoit is a butchery."

According to an article titled "Kingdom of Fear" in the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune, Rehman was running a gang at the age of 21. The article states, "...Rehman was involved in extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking, illegal arms sales, and many other activities. For nearly a decade, life in Lyari came to a standstill due to gang warfare, as Rehman and his gang fought their rival Arshad Pappu and his associates."

Rahman's entry into politics

Rehman wasn't content to rule Lyari solely through fear. He entered politics. Lyari was a stronghold of the Pakistan Peoples Party, founded by former Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and later by his daughter, the late Benazir Bhutto. Press photographs showed Rehman with former Interior Minister Zulfikar Mirza and around Benazir Bhutto.

There are also reports that political pressure tied the hands of law enforcement agencies in Rahman's case. However, top police officials have denied this and stated that there was no pressure on the police.

Rehman came to power because of a political and administrative vacuum in Lyari. Lack of development and poverty in the area gave rise to local power centers like Rehman. The Express Tribune quoted a PPP leader as saying, "Political figures ignored Lyari. As a result, people like Rehman Dacoit filled that vacuum. Unemployment was a major problem in Lyari and still is. Rehman would pay boys daily wages and give them Kalashnikovs to patrol the area, and these boys didn't even know who they were shooting at."

The hunger for power remained unquenched

The political influence he gained through his connections with the ruling party did not satisfy Rehman's hunger for power. He wanted direct control. He abandoned the bandit moniker and the identity he once enjoyed and began calling himself Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch, a name specifically referring to his tribe, the Baloch. He mended relations with rival gangs and formed the People's Aman Committee in 2008. The People's Aman Committee initially appeared to be an ally of the PPP.

There were rumors that he might contest the elections. Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's husband and now Pakistan's president, was protected by gunmen believed to be from Rehman's gang.

Maulana Abdul Majeed Sarbaji, chairman of the People's Aman Committee, told the Express Tribune that Rahman's aim was to bring peace and progress to Lyari. He explained, "Some people had created a situation in Lyari where the Baloch community was divided into two groups. Many innocent people lost their lives in gang warfare... Khan Bhai felt that the fighting should stop, and he made a huge sacrifice; he went to meet his enemy, Ghaffar Baloch, to negotiate a compromise. The purpose of forming the People's Aman Committee was to end criminal activities."

Elimination of Rahman the dacoit

Before he could ride the wave of political success, Rehman was shot dead in a shootout with police in August 2009. Sarbaji told The Express Tribune that he suspected the encounter was staged.

He said, "The autopsy report says that Rehman was shot from a distance of three feet. People don't die like this in encounters. It is very sad that when the fight between the two groups was going on for seven years, no one intervened and when the situation improved, they killed Khan Bhai. We don't understand why this happened or who was behind it."

Sources close to the PPP allege that the party's top leadership wanted to remove Rehman from the party fold. Various reasons have been cited, ranging from "Rehman wanted political power" to "he was becoming too big." However, party leaders reject this claim, saying he was "too modest" for top PPP leaders like Zardari.

There's another theory. It's alleged that Rehman was involved in selling weapons to the Balochistan Liberation Army and that his murder was the result of a bad deal. As is typical, in the years following Rehman's death, PPP leaders distanced themselves from the controversial figure and even claimed the party had nothing to do with the PAC.

Rehman Dacoit lived for 29 years, but stories of his infamy have persisted in Lyari for decades and have now crossed the border and reached Indian cinema.

 PC:Jagran