India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of providing both state protection as well as 5-star hospitality to the crime syndicate that carried out 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador T S Tirumurti said that the crime mafia gang responsible for the deadly March 1993 Mumbai blasts was given state sanctuary as well as enjoyed the generosity of its host, in an obscure reference to D-gang (Dawood and co.) and Pakistan respectively. “We have seen the crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts not just given state protection but enjoying 5-star hospitality,” Ambassador Tirumurti said while speaking at the International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022 organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Council.
He further added that any connection between transnational organized crime and terrorism must be fully recognized, investigated, and dissembled. It is believed that Dawood Ibrahim is still being sheltered in Pakistan. In August 2020, Pakistan documents had revealed that Ibrahim had been living in White House, Karachi. His was one of the 88 terror groups which invited financial sanctions from Pakistan government in accordance with the demands laid out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Ambassador Tirumurti also pointed out that the implementation of sanctions under 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee have various shortcomings given that these sanctions are vital to crack down on terror groups, critical arms access as well as financing. “It is critical that all sanctions regimes established by the Council ensure due process in their working procedures and decision-making,” He added.
He referred to the latest Monitoring Team (MT) report on exemptions on freezing of assets related to resolution 2560 (2020) which attributed to gaps in measures on freezing of assets by member countries due to inadequacy in current provisions and guidelines of the committee. He added that the decision-making process to sanction terror organisations and networks must be based objectively, swiftly and transparently done on the basis of available evidence and facts.
Sohail Kaskar, who is Dawood Ibrahim’s nephew, recently managed to escape to Pakistan via Dubai, according to media reports. He was likely to be deported by the U.S. The United States had sanctioned Dawood and his gang on the charges of narco-terrorism.
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