Dawood Ibrahim, a prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, has been identified in the fresh intercepts available with the Delhi police talking to his close aide Chhota Shakeel and others in Dubai while sitting in Pakistan as late as April this year.
Dawood has been named as an accused in the IPL spot-fixing case by the Delhi police.
On Friday, Islamabad’s pointsman for the Track-II dialogue with India, Shahryar Khan, had claimed that Dawood had left Pakistan and is now in the UAE. While this was the first time a Pakistani official had acknowledged the don’s presence in the country, Mr Khan retracted his statement within 24 hours.
On Saturday, he did a U-turn, saying he had no idea whether the gangster was in their country. “I have never, never, when I was in the foreign ministry or now... (I) do not know where Dawood Ibrahim lives. I am only reflecting what the press has been saying, the Pakistani press have been saying about the gentleman,” Mr Khan told the media.
“The ministry of interior would have probably known but the foreign ministry does not. I have no idea whether he is in Pakistan, if he ever has been (there),” he said.
Mr Khan’s U-turn is being viewed as a “face-saver” for the Pakistan government which has always denied Dawood’s presence in the country. Reacting to Mr Khan’s statement, the ministry of external affairs said that the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast dossier has “never” been closed and it will not rest till those responsible for the heinous attacks were brought to justice.
“We too have seen the reports which have been attributed to an official of the Pak government. The 1993 Mumbai bomb blast dossier has never been closed by us. Therefore, now that we have received more information about it, we will not rest till those responsible for the 1993 attack against our citizens in Mumbai are brought to justice wherever they are... We will continue to pursue this,” an MEA spokesperson said.
Top intelligence officials said despite mounting evidence made available to Pakistan on Dawood’s role in the bombings, Pakistan considers him a “legitimate businessman”, refusing to heed India’s requests for his extradition. Intelligence officials said Dawood’s house in Karachi continues to be guarded by the Sindh police as he regularly travels in and out of the country for business purposes. “Dawood enjoys complete state support and ISI officials regularly visit him,” a security source said.
The CBI, the Interpol’s nodal agency in India, has provided House No. 37, 30th Street, Defence Housing Authority, Karachi as Dawood’s permanent address in Pakistan to the Interpol. Another palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad in Karachi and a property at Margalla Road F-6/2, Street No. 22, House No. 29 in the same city have been provided as other addresses of the underworld don.
Apart from his role in carrying out the Mumbai terror bombings, Dawood is on the wanted list of the Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting, as well as his association with the Al Qaeda as identified in the UN Security Council resolutions. The Interpol has already issued a red-corner notice against him.