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MUMBAI: Was President Pervez Musharraf telling the truth when he told Union home minister L.K. Advani that Dawood Ibrahim was not in Pakistan? Sources in the home ministry told this newspaper that the Pakistan President was right. A few hours before Gen Musharraf left for New Delhi on Saturday, Dawood, with Tiger Memon in tow, flew out of Karachi and headed for Singapore.
After meeting a close friend in Singapore, he flew to Dubai. It is learnt that he is not staying in his earlier home - which is called the White House - in Dubai, but in gangster Sharad Shetty's house in the Jumeira area. Shetty himself has temporarily moved into the house of his neighbour, Kamal Chadda.
The Centre is believed to have already requested the UAE government to extradite Dawood and Tiger Memon to India. Dawood, it is learnt, has increased his security cover in Dubai as he fears a retaliatory attack by the Chhota Rajan gang. Dawood's gang members had made an abortive bid on Chhota Rajan's life in Bangkok some time ago and the latter had vowed to hit back at his former mentor.
Sources said Dawood and Memon moved out of Karachi to avoid causin embarrassment to President Musharraf during his trip to India. It is learnt that the Indian government had gathered a mass of evidence to prove that Dawood, who is the principal accused in the Mumbai serial blasts case of March 1993, was indeed staying in Pakistan. It is learnt that U.S. intelligence agencies are also keeping a close tab on Dawood because of his role in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993 which represent the worst urban terrorist strike anywhere in the world, and because of his alleged links with Osama bin Laden.
"Mr Advani could have confronted Gen Musharraf with voluminous evidence if the Pakistani leader had lbrabim claimed that Dawood had never lived in his country," a source said. The Indian government is reported to have in its possession fax copies of the Pakistani passports of Dawood and Tiger Memon, who had played a critical role in the blasts.
If the situation becomes hot for Dawood and Memon in Dubai they might shift to Saudi Arabia. But with U.S. agencies on their trail, they may not be able to stay there for long and may be forced to return to Pakistan after things get back to normal following Gen. Musharraf's India visit.
The Mumbai police is happy that Mr Advani took up the issue of Dawood during his talks with Gen Musharraf. "We cannot tackle organised crime in Mumbai if people literally calling the shots here are based in Pakistan. We have given detailed information about the activities of the Dawood gang to the Centre and we are glad that it is finally beginning to act or it," a senior police official said.
Sources said if the Pakistani government
permits Dawood to return to Karachi, it may extract bigger price from him.
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