Nepal to freeze assets of Dawood Ibrahim, al-Qaeda linked suspects
Kathmandu: Nepal on Tuesday announced it would enforce a UN freeze on bank accounts of over 200 terror suspects, including Dawood Ibrahim, though officials said they had no information of India's most wanted terrorist having any assets in the country.
The government directed authorities to freeze the assets of 224 individuals and 64 groups with links to Al Qaeda, said Home Ministry spokesperson Shanker Prasad Koirala.
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, who India says is currently living in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, was among individuals named in a list issued by the Home Ministry for having links with Al Qaeda.
"The list came from the UN Security Council. Nepal does not have any particular information on Dawood Ibrahim or his assets," Koirala told PTI. Under the Security Council's resolutions, UN member states have to freeze assets and impose a travel ban and embargo on such individuals and entities, Koirala said.
The action is in line with Nepal's commitment to UN principles and its adoption of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, he said. The Act has provisions to freeze the properties of those who invest in organisations, groups and people involved in terrorist activities or in manufacturing or sale of weapons.
"As per our commitment to the UN resolution and recommendation made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have asked the concerned government authorities to freeze the proprieties or bank accounts or financial transactions," Koirala said.
Indian security agencies have for long said that several Pakistan-backed terrorists and militant groups have been using Nepal as a transit point and base for their activities. Recently, senior Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Abdul Karim Tunda and Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal were arrested near the Indo-Nepal border.
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