Pakistan’s former President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, won’t confirm if underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, the man said to be behind the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, is in Pakistan, where he is believed to have fled from Dubai after the 1993 blasts, but says he is “held in high esteem” in his country.
Pakistan has never admitted Dawood’s presence on its soil despite New Delhi’s repeated demands for his extradition. External affairs minister S.M. Krishna reiterated this demand in October after Dawood’s brother Anees told a TV channel he was living in Karachi. Dawood was also designated by the US as a “global terrorist”.
In an interview to NDTV 24/7 from London, the general spelt out why Dawood is respected in Pakistan: “They think he did a very good job... because Indians killed 3,000 Gujaratis. Therefore, Dawood reacted. So he is held in high esteem.” But when asked if he was hiding in Pakistan, the general turned coy: “I wouldn’t be able to confirm that. I don’t know.”
Sources in New Delhi feel his remarks are another indication that Dawood is indeed in Pakistan, and say it must be seen in the light of the general’s current political ambitions. As President, Gen. Musharraf had always stoutly denied his presence in his country.