Dawood Ibrahim in UAE, will return to Pakistan soon?
New Delhi, Aug 8: Pakistan, in its first official admission, on Friday accepted that the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was in their country, but now he has been chased out.
The unexpected revelation came when Shahryar Khan, the Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special envoy for improving relations with India, said, "Dawood (Ibrahim) was in Pakistan but I believe he was chased out of Pakistan. If he is in Pakistan, he should be hounded and arrested. We cannot allow such gangsters to operate from the country."
While
talking
to
reporters
in
London,
at
a
pre-launch
event
organised
by
the
Indian
Journalists' Association
for
his
latest
book
'Cricket
Cauldron:
The
Turbulent
Politics
of
Sport
in
Pakistan',
he
said,
"I
think
he
is
in
the
UAE.
The
Nawaz
Sharif
government
is
very
much
in
favour
of
taking
action
against
criminals
who
not
only
affect
Pakistan
but
also
any
other
countries,
whether
it
is
India
or
Afghanistan
or
wherever.
We
cannot
allow
criminals
to
flourish
in
the
country.
If
they
come
to
us,
we
will
take
action.
That
is
why
I
think
he
(Dawood)
has
left
Pakistan."
However, while talking to NDTV, Khan, the former diplomat took a U-turn on his earlier statement and said, "I have never, not in the past as foreign secretary, not now, have known where Mr Ibrahim lives. I was only reflecting what the Pakistani press has been saying. I have no knowledge nor is it my remit."
Some reports suggested that the India's most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim is out of Pakistan, only on a temporary basis. He has gone to UAE to perform Umrah ( a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia) and he is expected to return to Pakistan by early next week.
Sources from the Indian intelligence said that Dawood's house in Karachi continues to be guarded by Sindh police and he travels out of Pakistan regularly for business.
Pakistan has till now denied the presence of Dawood on its soil though Indian security agencies have repeatedly mentioned his name and details in dossiers handed over to Pakistani authorities.
According to reports, Dawood was based in Karachi, where he had fled after the 1993 Mumbai bombings. Besides the 1993 bombings, he is wanted in numerous terror and criminal cases in India. In 2003, the US government had designated him as a "Foreign Terrorist".
OneIndia News
(With Agency inputs)