Author: Hasan Zaidi in Karachi
Publication: India Today
Date: September 18, 2006
Introduction: There is little possibility that Delhi's demands to hand over Dawood and his gang will be taken seriously by Islamabad
When a chowkidar of a Karachi school was critically injured in an accident earlier this year, the staff and students decided to collect funds for his treatment. A teacher was approached by one of her young wards whose father wanted to speak to her. When she took the phone, the "extremely courteous" father told her that he would bear the entire cost of the treatment. She turned down the offer pointing out that the school had raised the funds required. She was excited as she had just talked to Dawood Ibrahim.
Such anecdotal evidence of India's most wanted man's connections to Pakistan periodically litters society gossip throughout the country. Last year, former Pakistan cricket captain Javed Miandad's son's wedding to Dawood's daughter in Dubai also created some ripples about the actual whereabouts of the mafia don. There is speculation that he resides in one of the upmarket areas of Karachi and that he has invested heavily in real estate all over Pakistan. Other reports put him somewhere near Rawalpindi. But, the fact is that there has never been a verified sighting of him in Pakistan.
In the wake of the convictions announced this week for the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, the focus in India may very well be on the whereabouts of the top fugitives, Dawood and Ibrahim Abdur Razzak "Tiger" Memon. However, in Pakistan the news of the judgement did not make even to the front pages of most newspapers and the two main accused, particularly Memon, are barely on the radar of public consciousness. For its part, the Pakistan Government has continuously denied the presence of either of them. India may allege Pakistan is harbouring the two, but according to Tasnim Aslam, spokesperson of Pakistan Foreign Ministry, "These are baseless allegations that have no credibility or substance." She says Pakistan has "repeatedly rejected" the Indian claims and that while it "condemns terrorist acts anywhere" it saw no need to comment on the judgement, which is essentially an internal Indian matter.
Sources in the Government are also contemptuous of the lists India claims to have handed over to Pakistan, containing the alleged addresses of its wanted men. "They are absolutely superfluous," says a source in Interior Ministry. "Some addresses don't even exist, others are speculative and untrue."
The other problem with the lists, which government officials claim date back four years, is the inclusion of people like Hafiz Saeed of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (nee Laskhar-e-Toiba) and Syed Salahuddin of the United Jehad Council. Officials see no reason why Pakistan should hand over what they see as political personalities without evidence of their involvement in specific terrorist acts in India. Saeed is a Pakistani citizen against whom no direct evidence has been provided by Indian authorities according to Pakistan, while Salahuddin is a Kashmiri involved in what Islamabad considers a legitimate struggle for self-determination in a disputed territory.
Pakistan's lack of cooperation-as India sees it-in handing over its most wanted must also be seen in the context of the contentious relationship between the two countries, which is quite separate from the Indian allegations of Pakistan's ISI's involvement in the 1993 blasts.
"What one needs to realise is that the substantive relationship between Pakistan and India is on the decline," says Aamer Ahmed Khan, former editor of Herald magazine. "Given India's involvement in Afghanistan over the last three years, Pakistan's strained relationship with Afghanistan because of it, the trouble in Balochistan that Pakistan believes is being fomented by India, the lack of movement on Kashmir issue and the history of involvement of intelligence agencies on both sides in exploiting the weaknesses of each other, there is no way the Indian demands to hand over people it wants will be taken seriously by Pakistan."
Dawood may also have been designated a "global terrorist" by the US under Indian pressure but it would be naive to believe he would be a priority for the Americans or the British who have been far more successful than the Indian Government in getting Pakistan to extradite terror suspects. "The targets for the US are of much higher value than Dawood," says Khan. "They are specific and focused and the US would not like to jeopardise its relationship with Pakistan or its hunt for Al Qaida by exerting pressure about Dawood, especially when Pakistan denies he is there."
The rumour mills continue to churn out stories about Dawood and his cohorts. One source claims that Dawood and his gang recently held a meeting to develop a contingency plan for their multi-billion dollar investments-none in their own names-should the Pakistan Government do a U-turn and arrest them. According to the source, since the Pakistan Government's policy reversal on the Taliban, Dawood's gang has become very wary and often moves around without informing its "minders". Another source claims he spends most of his time outside Pakistan.
While the rumours continue to flow along with the Indian allegations, for the Pakistan Government Dawood is simply not on the map.