Pakistan Takes A U-Turn On Presence Of Dawood Ibrahim In Karachi, 'Reports Baseless And Misleading'

On Saturday, Pakistan released a list of 88 terrorists which included the name of Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don blamed for the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts along with other terrorists.

Dawood Ibrahim (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: Pakistan takes a u-turn on the presence of Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi, saying that there is no admission that India’s Most Wanted, underworld don is in Pakistan.  The Imran Khan-led PTI government had yesterday released a list of 88 members of terrorist groups on which it has purportedly imposed more restrictions. The list included Don Dawood Ibrahim's name. Also Read|Pakistan Finally Admits Dawood Ibrahim Is In Karachi; Bans 88 Such Terrorists Fearing FATF Slip Out After years of denying that it shelters the underworld don blamed for the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts along with other terrorists, Pakistan finally admitted that Dawood Ibrahim, one of India's most wanted men, lives in Karachi. The list had reconfirmed that Dawood lives in Karachi at the White House near the Saudi mosque, Clifton. He also owns other properties such as House Number 37 and 30th Street, Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, and a palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad in Karachi. Pakistan's admission came as an effort to wriggle out of tough financial sanctions for helping terrorists. The country said it had imposed financial sanctions on the terror groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the seizure of all of their properties and freezing of bank accounts. 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 COVID-19 pandemic. However, just hours later, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement and downplayed reports.  “The reports in certain sections of the media about Pakistan imposing any new sanctions measures, through these notifications, are not factual. Similarly, the assertions made by some sections of the Indian media, as to Pakistan admitting to the presence of certain listed individuals (Dawood Ibrahim) on its territory, based on the information contained in the notifications, is baseless and misleading,” the statement read. Also Watch|Pakistan denies the presence of Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi