Dawood Ibrahim, one of India’s most wanted men, lives in Karachi, the Pakistani government has said, after years of denying that it shelters the underworld don blamed for the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts along with other terrorists.
Pakistan’s admission came in a list of 88 banned terror groups disclosed as part of its efforts to wriggle out of tough financial sanctions for helping terrorists.
The country said it had imposed financial sanctions on the terror groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the seizure of all of their properties and freezing of bank accounts.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action by the end of 2019, but the deadline was extended later due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pakistani government issued two notifications on August 18 announcing sanctions on key figures of terror outfits such as 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Harfiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
According to Pakistani authorities, Dawood Ibrahim’s address is “White House, Near Saudi Mosque, Clifton” in Karachi, Pakistan. He also has other properties listed as “House Nu 37 – 30th Street – defence, 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 admission saying that it was not the source of the information.
India has long held that there is proof that Dawood Ibrahim, hunted for nearly three decades, has been living in Pakistan’s largest city and financial capital – an assertion also confirmed by the UN. Pakistan, which had also denied Osama Bin Laden lived in the country, has been refuting the charge.
Dawood Ibrahim, who heads a vast and multifaceted illegal business empire, emerged as India’s most wanted terrorist after the 1993 Mumbai bombings in which 257 people were killed and 700 were injured.
Besides the Mumbai blasts, the 59-year-old don is also accused of masterminding other terror attacks and faces multiple charges of money laundering and extortion. India and the US also accuse Dawood of financing terror groups including al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
