KARACHI: Pakistan has strongly denied the presence on its soil of a notorious Interpol-wanted Indian criminal, Dawood Ibrahim, after the Indian media spotted the gangster’s name on a recent list by the Pakistani Foreign Office of individuals whose assets have been frozen over terrorism links.
Ibrahim has led an organized crime syndicate in Mumbai, India, and is also wanted for ordering a series of bomb explosions that took place in the city in 1993. His name and address in the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi appeared on the statutory notification (SRO) issued by Pakistan on Aug. 18 in a move to avoid the country’s blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors money laundering and tracks activities of terrorist groups.
“The assertions, made by some sections of the Indian media, as to Pakistan admitting to the presence of certain listed individuals on its territory, based on the information contained in the SRO, are baseless and misleading,” the Foreign Office said in statement on Saturday evening, in response to the Indian press reports.
The statement said the information contained in the SRO was reproduced from the United Nations Security Council’s lists on sanctioned individuals belonging to terrorist groups, which also mention the names of persons who are already dead.
On Sunday, Indian media reported that Pakistan had admitted Ibrahim’s presence on its soil after the SRO mentioned three residential addresses of the gangster in Karachi. The addresses, which could not be independently verified, were first reported in a story by freelance journalist Ghulam Husnain in the Newsline magazine’s September 2001 issue. The same article later became grounds for India to claim that the criminal was living in Pakistan. Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Ibrahim in April 2006.
Ibrahim’s addresses were published on the Pakistani Foreign Office’s website already in November last year.
On June 26, Indian media outlets reported that Ibrahim had died of the coronavirus.
Pakistan denies presence of Interpol-wanted Indian gangster in Karachi
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Pakistan denies presence of Interpol-wanted Indian gangster in Karachi
- Dawood Ibrahim is wanted for leading an organized crime syndicate and ordering a series of bomb explosions that took place in Mumbai in 1993
- Indian media reported that Pakistan had admitted Ibrahim’s presence on its soil after a statutory notification mentioned his three addresses in Karachi
Pakistan says over 500 Afghan Taliban militants killed in airstrikes as fighting continues
- Clashes began last week after Afghanistan targeted Pakistani military sites along the border
- Pakistan says it struck 62 targets in Afghanistan, destroyed 237 check posts in the conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has killed 527 Afghan Taliban fighters, wounded more than 755 and struck 62 locations inside Afghanistan in air attacks, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Friday, as fighting between the two neighbors enters the second week.
Clashes between the two countries began last week when Afghan forces launched a surprise attack on Pakistani military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said the assault was in retaliation for Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes in February on what Islamabad described as militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Last Friday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the situation had become “open war” between Pakistan and Afghanistan as strikes and fighting escalated.
“Summary of Afghan Taliban losses: 527 killed, 755 + injured, 237 checkposts destroyed, 38 posts captured, 205 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns destroyed,” Tarar wrote on the social media platform X.
“62 locations across Afghanistan effectively targeted by air.”
The development comes after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, announced a fresh offensive against Pakistan earlier today.
Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering militant groups such as the TTP on its soil and facilitating attacks against Pakistan. Afghanistan denies the allegations and has urged Islamabad to address its security challenges without blaming Kabul.
Afghanistan has called for dialogue to resolve the conflict. Pakistan, however, has rejected talks with Kabul, saying its operation “Ghazab Lil Haq” — meaning Wrath for Truth — will continue until its objectives are achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies, including the European Union and the United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help restore a ceasefire, as other countries that had offered to mediate have themselves been affected by the conflict in the Gulf.
