Islamabad: The mystery over the whereabouts of underworld don and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim continues with Pakistan claiming that he is not in the country. Pakistan External Affairs spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said on Thursday that India should refrain from interfering in the country's internal affairs and added New Delhi had accepted Islamabad's claim of Dawood not being on its soil.
Dawood has been in hiding and under the control of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI for more than two decades after he fled India following the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in which over 250 people were killed.
Just a few days back the Narendra Modi government was forced to damage control after contradicting its position on Dawood. After Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary in reply to a question by Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha said that Indian intelligence agencies were unaware of Dawood Ibrahim's location, the Centre had claimed that the fugitive was in Pakistan.
Chaudhary's colleague and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said Dawood lived in Pakistan and the Centre would continue to pursue the cases against him very seriously.
"Government's consistent stand is that he (Dawood) is in Pakistan and the Government of India has been providing information to Pakistan about his whereabouts and Pakistani agencies are not cooperating with Indian government. That is well known to everyone," he said outside Parliament.
The minister said he could not say about the clarification to be given by the government in Parliament but requested everyone not to misconstrue a statement which is based on specific questions.
"So, if necessary, clarifications will be given but what I want to say is that please don't question the intention of the government. The government is very clear and government's job is well defined and it is pursuing the case very seriously," he said.
Earlier Chaudhary had not only informed Parliament that Dawood Ibrahim's whereabouts were unknown but also added that an extradition process could only be initiated after he was located.
Replying to a written question of BJP MP Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha, Chaudhary said, "The subject has not been located so far. Extradition process with regard to Dawood Ibrahim would be initiated once the subject is located."
The statement contradicts Home Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks in December 2014 when he said that action will be taken to bring Dawood back to India.
The government came under severe criticism over its controversial statement with opposition parties demanding an explanation from the Centre.
"Rajnath Singh needs to give answers. BJP must explain its U-turn on Dawood. The ministry backtracking on the whereabouts of Dawood is very disheartening. The government is now claiming that it does have a clue about the whereabouts of Dawood but a few months back they said they are aware. Either they were misleading earlier or are misleading now," Congress leader Sanjay Jha said.
Even former Intelligence Bureau special director Rajendra Kumar contradicted the government's claims. He said there was no chance of Dawood leaving Pakistan.
"Dawood cannot move out of Pakistan. ISI moves Dawood from one place to another in Pakistan. The government can't openly declare Dawood's whereabouts. Which country can Dawood go to outside Pakistan? The government must continue to put pressure on Pakistan over Dawood," said Kumar who tracked Dawood in Pakistan.
Former home secretary GK Pillai also supported Kumar and said that Dawood was in Pakistan. "He keeps moving. He does not stay at one place all the time. His two addresses in Pakistan are known, it was communicated to Pakistan as well,' he said.
According to sources, Dawood was last traced to Karachi and used to travel to Dubai, but stopped after an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him. Sources also said that the Pakistan government does not want to hand him to India as he may divulge details of his operations with its intelligence agency ISI.
Dawood, who has been listed as as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States for his alleged links with al-Qaeda terror groups, vanished from Mumbai between 1992-93 and settled in a Gulf country.
The CBI has alleged that he conspired with ISI to carry out serial blasts in Mumbai in March 1993 in which 257 people were killed and property worth Rs 32 crore damaged.
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