Indian envoy says crime syndicate venturing into terrorism and getting state hospitality

United Nations, Aug 10: India has had first-hand experience of crime syndicates venturing into terrorism and then getting "state hospitality" in a neighbouring country despite being blacklisted by the UN, India's envoy here said on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to D-company head Dawood Ibrahim who is believed to be in Pakistan.

Ibrahim, who heads a vast and multifaceted illegal business, has emerged as India's most wanted terrorist after the 1993 Mumbai bombings.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on 'Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts' chaired by China, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said links between terrorism and organised crime need to be addressed, news agency PTI reported.

"Linkages between terrorism and organised crime need to be addressed. In India, we have had first-hand experience of crime syndicates venturing into terrorism and immediately thereafter getting state hospitality in a neighbouring country despite being listed under the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee," she said.

Kamboj said "such hypocrisy needs to be collectively called out, when the threat of terrorism looms large in each of our countries." Kamboj's remarks were a thinly-veiled reference to D-Company, responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, and its head Ibrahim, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

In August 2020, Pakistan had for the first time acknowledged the presence of Ibrahim on its soil after the government imposed sweeping sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, which also included the name of the underworld don wanted by India.

In 2003, the US declared Ibrahim a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

India has repeatedly asked the Government of Pakistan to hand over Ibrahim to India so that he can be prosecuted for the crimes committed by him. It is reported that Ibrahim is based in the southern port city of Karachi.

The government issued two notifications on August 18 announcing sanctions on key figures of terror outfits such as 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, and underworld don Ibrahim.

It was believed that the move by the Pakistan government was part of its efforts to wriggle out of the grey list of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action by the end of 2019, but the deadline was extended later due to the Covid-19 pandemic.