Pakistan is termed to be the worldwide sponsor of terror for a reason. From letting its soil being used by innumerable terrorist organizations, to giving a safe refuge to the most wanted men all around the globe, Pakistan has become the ultimate proprietor of terrorism. Thus, it is impractical to not surmise the fact that it gives shelter to the most wanted man in India: Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Dawood, originally from Dongri, Mumbai, went on to become India’s most powerful underworld figure. He was a mobster, a drug-dealer and the head of Indian organized crime syndicate, the D- COMPANY. The crux of his tale came on 12th March,1993 when a series of 12 bomb explosions rocked India’s financial capital. The attack was assumed to be the vengeance of the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. The masterminds behind this plan were Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. This was a major development as the Don of underworld had left beyond the violent protection of commercial interests and was into political vendetta wrecked indiscriminately against the entire city, which made him the most wanted terrorist in India with a reward of $25.
Whether Dawood was in India and fled to Pakistan just before the attack or was in Dubai at the time of the attack is not clear. In 2003, India and USA termed him to be a “Global Terrorist”. From the past two decades, the Indian government has been claiming the presence of Dawood in Pakistan and has been asking him to be handed over so that he can face trail in India. They have also given reports about the properties owned by him in Pakistan and accused him of financing terror groups like Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. On 7th August, India again told UNSC that Ibrahim and other terrorists “unsurprisingly” continue to enjoy “patronage” in a neighbouring country, without naming any nation.
After nearly 19 years of denying the presence of the underworld Don in its territory, the recent list of terror outfits and leaders released by Pakistan on 22nd August,2020 has triggered a new wave of discussion into the matter. Pakistan is imposing tough financial sanctions against those mentioned in the list, which includes the name of Dawood Ibrahim and also mentions his address as “White House, near Saudi Mosque, Clifton in Karachi”. His name along with address being mentioned is a clear indication by Pakistan that he is there. However, later the nation took a U-Turn by claiming that the list released by it was merely a reproduction of UNSC’s list. It tried to distance itself from the admission, saying that its was not the source of information. Pakistan Foreign Ministry blamed Indian media for spreading false reports.
It must be noticed that all these developments are taking place when India is seeking a seat this year in the UNSC.
Pakistan’s action can be traced as a step taken to avoid the FATF blacklist.
Pakistan was placed in the “grey list” by the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) in June 2018 and its developments are going to be reviewed in September this year. However, slapping major terrorists like Dawood and Lakhvi merely by a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), which is non-prosecutable and not naming them as “Individual terrorists” under Anti Terrorism Act (ATA), might not save Pakistan. It has become a safe heaven for the terrorists which not only hides them from the world but also supports their actions by the all means. It had done the same for Osama Bin Laden earlier.
However, the major question which looms today is whether Dawood’s relations with Pakistan are not so good anymore? His name on the list suggests so but some reports claim that apart from having substantial property in the Gulf countries, Dawood was moving like a rich Pakistani citizen in Karachi and is still active with the agendas of his D-Company abroad. Light must be thrown on the fact that Dawood’s daughter, Mahrukh is married to Junaid Miandad, the son of Javed Miandad, former Pakistani captian and team-mate of current Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
Media reports are enough to suggest that the relation between two players keeps on fluctuating. But, Dawood undoubtedly has a link till Imran. Is the Pakistani Prime Minister really trying to curb terrorism or this list is just an attempt to deceive the world and an outcome of a hasty move to avoid the blacklist ?
Whatever it is, the name of Dawood on the list by Pakistan has confirmed the presence of the terrorist in its soil. It will be gripping to watch if this debate, that has been sparked off on an issue which has been existing from years, will bring out some positive results in the forthcoming future or once again cease to be just a diplomatic sparring between nations that has been flared up at the prime time to suit their international interests.
Written by: Aishani Mishra
Literary sources: The Times of India, The Hindu, The Outlook, Firstpost.com, The Hindustan Times
Pictures: Outlook India, Hindustan Times