Sunday, August 23, 2020

Imran govt now denies presence of Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan, calls media claims ‘baseless’

 By NAYANIMA BASU

Dawood Ibrahim was among 88 others who figured in two notifications, or Statutory Regulatory Orders, issued by Pakistan to the UN on 18 August.
Pakistan Sunday distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the presence of terrorist Dawood Ibrahim in the country, and said it had issued the names of 88 banned terror groups and their leaders in a “routine exercise”.
The Imran Khan government had on 18 August issued two notifications, or Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), giving details of the present status of 88 terrorists and their entities, including Dawood Ibrahim, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar, to the United Nations.
It also gave details about Taliban, ISIL and the Al-Qaeda, which are already proscribed in the UN Security Council’s sanctions list.
“The consolidated SROs are issued periodically as a routine matter. Similar SROs have been issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the past, as per statutory requirements to meet our international obligations. Last such SROs were issued in 2019. The SROs issued reflect information contained in the list entry of UN designated individuals/entities,” the Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday.
According to Pakistani media reports, the Imran Khan government has ordered seizure of all movable and immovable properties of these banned outfits and their leaders, as well as freezing of their bank accounts.
“The reports in certain sections of the media about Pakistan imposing new sanctions measures, through these SROs, 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 on its territory, based on the information contained in the SRO, are baseless and misleading,” the statement said.
It added, “It is once again reiterated that the information contained in the SRO is reproduced as per the details in the list entry of the individuals/entities designated under the two sanctions regime, which is publicly available, and contains names of individuals who despite their confirmed deceased status still continue to be on the sanctions list.”

‘Dawood Ibrahim continues to enjoy patronage’

Earlier this month, India had told the UN Security Council that Dawood Ibrahim, who is the main mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, continues to enjoy “patronage” in Pakistan.
“An organised crime syndicate, the D-Company, that used to smuggle gold and counterfeit currencies transformed into a terrorist entity overnight causing a series of bomb blasts in the city of Mumbai in 1993. The attack resulted in the loss of more than 250 innocent lives and damage to property worth millions of dollars,” India had said in the statement.

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