Cover up- Dawood Ibrahim sells houses for a living today

For the world he is a terrorist, but for Pakistan he is a legitimate businessman and a guest. A money transaction dating back to two months back done through a proxy in connection with a plot in Karachi has got the alarm bells in the Intelligence Bureau ringing once again about Dawood Ibrahim's whereabouts.

He is a legitimate businessman according to Pakistan and even if one were to search through his records in that country, there will be not a single trail of crime.

A high profile realtor

It is a perfectly wily move on part of both the Pakistan establishment and the don himself. He has been told to stay away from the drug market and concentrate on real estate.

His recent dealings include buying a two acre plot in Karachi and he intends building houses. What the Intelligence Bureau officials tell Oneindia is that this is something that acts as his cover and every time the heat is on him, he starts doing legitimate business in Karachi.

Always in Karachi

When Home Minister Rajnath Singh had recently said that the ISI had moved Dawood Ibrahim to the Afghanistan border that statement was true. However his stint at the border was a tactical move by the ISI which moved the eyes and ears of the Indian agencies towards the border.

From the Afghanistan border, he was taken to Bangladesh the very next day where he stayed on in Dhaka where there is a guest house specifically for the D Gang members. After making a six day trip he was brought back to his Karachi home. For the ISI keeping him in Karachi was a safer bet as he would remain right under their nose.

How important is D for Pakistan today?

He is no doubt the primary funder for the ISI's proxy agents such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. However today it is not Dawood who oversees the drug business.

The mantle of the drugs and arms business are being handled by Anees Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel. Anees Ibrahim had even made a trip to Nigeria and coordinated with the Boko Haram Chief Shekau to do business in India.

Dawood on the other hand is lying low and does a legitimate business. Even if agencies of the United States of America tell Pakistan to stop harbouring a criminal, Pakistan would deny that he is doing anything wrong in Pakistan.

For Pakistan he is practically a realtor today. However they would still like to shelter him for two reasons. First and foremost if India gets him in Pakistan then their bluff is out in the open. They have for time immemorial denied his presence in Pakistan.

Secondly the entire drug syndicate although run by his brother and aides totally are dependant on his name. It is the trust that the drug lords across the world have in the name of Dawood Ibrahim is what keeps the business going. Hence until that transition from Dawood to Anees happens completely he will still be important for Pakistan.

Let us wait and watch

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today that we need to be patient. We have asked Pakistan several times and action will be taken, he said. India has adopted a wait and watch policy on his arrest.

Intelligence agencies say that there have been many such calls that have been intercepted in the past as well. However Pakistan will always deny that. It is important that we continue to break his network which earns him the money. Once this network is busted his importance in Pakistan becomes less.