Dawood Ibrahim may be in Pakistan Says Pravez Musharraf
NEW DELHI/LAHORE: India has long claimed that Dawood has been living in the Pakistani city of Karachi for years under state protection and several media reports have highlighted the addresses which the underworld don frequents. However, Pakistan has, officially, repeatedly denied harbouring Dawood. It has chosen to ignore several dossiers which New Delhi has sent to Islamabad over the years.
It may be recalled that the world’s most wanted terrorist, al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, was killed by a team of the United States’ Navy SEALs in a special operation on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad, a city in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Responding to a question on Osama, Musharraf said, “The issue is we have human intelligence. When Osama was killed, nobody knew that he was Osama and was staying there as people thought of him as a drug dealer.””Even I have a doubt that he was living in Abbottabad continuously for five years,” he added.
Is Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan? Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf seems to have answered the question. In an interview with a Pakistani news channel, Musharraf said, “India has been accusing Pakistan for long. Why should we now become good and assist them? I don’t know where Dawood, the key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts is. He must be here, somewhere. India has been killing Muslims and Dawood Ibrahim has been reacting,” giving a clear indication that the wanted criminal might be putting up in Pakistan.
Pakistan has consistently denied about Dawood residing there, despite India maintaining that that he indeed lives in a palatial house in Karachi. For the last 10 years, New Delhi has sent several dossiers to Islamabad in this regard, naming Ibrahim as the accused in the Mumbai blasts case.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Home Secy had said that the government is taking all required action so that Ibrahim could be brought back to India. “Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan. That country has given him shelter. That country is also putting hurdles in bringing him back to India to face the law,” he told PTI here.”Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan.
The home secretary said the “attitude” of Pakistan was not in conformity with international law and it is working against India in Ibrahim’s case. “Whatever action is required, we are taking. We will get him. The process is on. But the attitude of the Pakistan government is not in conformity with the international law.
Ibrahim is the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case in Mumbai in which around 260 people were killed, and more than 700 were injured. He fled India post the bombings and is hiding in Pakistan at present. In April, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had stated there was no doubt that Ibrahim was still in Pakistan. During the last 10 years, India has sent several dossiers to Pakistan in this regard, naming Ibrahim as the accused in the Mumbai blasts case. In 2011, P Chidambaram, the then home minister in the UPA government, had also said that Ibrahim was based in Karachi.
India had earlier also accused Pakistan of giving shelter to Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and a team of the United States Navy, SEALs, in a special operation, killed him on May 2, 2011. Musharraf, when asked about Pakistan’s consistent denial about Bin Laden’s erstwhile presence in their country, said, “The issue is we have human intelligence. When Osama was killed, nobody knew that he was Osama and was staying there as people thought of him as a drug dealer.” “Even I have doubt that he was living in Abbotabad continuously for five years,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
