Pakistan admits Dawood Ibrahim lives in Karachi, releases his address
The Pakistan government on Saturday admitted that Dawood Ibrahim, who is among India's most wanted, lives in Karachi. Ibrahim's whereabouts were mentioned in a list of 88 terror groups that the Pakistan government has banned and slapped with tough financial sanctions. The move comes amid Pakistan's efforts to make its way out of Paris-based terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list.
According to Pakistani authorities, Ibrahim's address is "White House, Near Saudi Mosque, Clifton" in Karachi. Other properties listed were "House Nu 37 - 30th Street - defence, Housing Authority, Karachi" and "Palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad in Karachi." India has long held that Ibrahim has been living in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. The United Nations had also confirmed this claim.
Ibrahim has been among India's most wanted after his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bombings in which 257 people were killed while 700 were injured. He has also been accused of masterminding other terror attacks. The 59-year-old underworld don faces multiple charges of money laundering and extortion and has also been accused of financing terror groups such as al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Additionally, the Pakistani government has announced sanctions on key figures of terror outfits including Ibrahim, who heads a vast and multifaceted illegal business empire. The government said the sanctions include the seizure of their properties and the freezing of their bank accounts. Among others facing sanctions are the 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body to combat money laundering, terror financing, among other threats to the international financial system. It had put Pakistan on its 'grey list' back in June 2018 and asked the nation to implement a plan of action by 2019-end. The deadline was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic and failure to comply would land Pakistan in the 'black list'.
