In line of fire over its flip-flop over Dawood Ibrahim, the Government on Monday asserted that the Mumbai blast mastermind is in Pakistan and it will do everything to bring him to justice. “Whether we have to pursue Pakistan or pressurise it, we will not rest till Dawood is brought back,” Rajnath Singh said in the lok Sabha.
Under attack in Parliament over the statement of MoS home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary last week that it was not aware about Dawood’s whereabouts, the Government asserted that the underworld don was in Pakistan and all efforts would be made to bring him to justice.
Rajnath said India has maintained pressure on Pakistan at all levels over the issue. Pakistan has “failed” to locate him and “initiate legal process” despite being provided with “overwhelming evidence” about his presence there, based on “credible information”, the home minister said in a statement.
He said, India has provided Pakistan the details of his Pakistani passports and reported addresses there from time to time, asking it to locate and hand him over to it.
Rajnath said a red-corner notice issued by Interpol was pending against Dawood since 1996 and a UN Security Council’s special notice against him was also pending since 2006. The Home Minister said Pakistan was bound by international obligations to locate and extradite him.
“India continues to pressurize Pakistan to fulfil its international obligations and locate Dawood Ibrahim and other terrorists and hand them over to India,” he said.
In a written reply to a question in the lok Sabha, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary had said Government was not aware about Dawood’s whereabouts, prompting Opposite to attack the Modi Government. The Government was accused of making a U-turn on the Dawood issue.
Dawood, who has been named as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States for his alleged links with al-Qaeda terror group, disappeared from Mumbai between 1992-93.