Dawood Ibrahim emerged as India’s most coveted terrorist after the 1993 Mumbai bombings.
Highlights
- Pakistan’s admission came on a list of 88 banned terrorist groups
- The permit came after years of refusing to hide under the world
- The country said it had imposed financial sanctions on the terrorist groups
New Delhi:
Dawood Ibrahim, one of the most wanted men in India, lives in Karachi, the Pakistani government has said, after years of denying that it accused the underworld of blaming the Mumbai series in 1993 along with other terrorists.
Pakistan’s admission came on a list of 88 banned terrorist groups that were made public as part of its efforts to wrestle out of harsh financial sanctions for helping terrorists.
The country said it had imposed financial sanctions on the terrorist groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the occupation of all their properties and freezing bank accounts.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Pakistan on the gray list in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action by the end of 2019, but the deadline was later extended due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pakistani government issued two notices on August 18 announcing sanctions on mainstays of terrorist equipment such as 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) boss Harfiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) boss Masood Azhar , and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
According to Pakistani authorities, the address of Dawood Ibrahim is “White House, near Saudi Mosque, Clifton” in Karachi, Pakistan. He also mentioned other properties such as “House Now 37 – 30th Street Defense, Housing Authority, Karachi” and “Palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad in Karachi”.
Later on Saturday, the Pakistani government tried to distance itself from the permit, saying it was not the source of the information.
India has long held that there is evidence that Dawood Ibrahim, hunted for nearly three decades, has lived in Pakistan’s largest city and financial capital – a claim also confirmed by the UN. Pakistan, which had also denied that Osama Bin Laden lived in the country, denied the charge.
Dawood Ibrahim, who heads a large and multi-faceted illegal business empire, emerged as the most wanted Indian terrorist following the 1993 bombings in Mumbai in which 257 people were killed and 700 wounded.
In addition to the Mumbai explosions, the 59-year-old Don is also accused of masterminding other terrorist attacks and faces multiple charges of money laundering and exhaustion. India and the US also accuse Dawood of funding terrorist groups including al-Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
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