Some recent reports in Indian and
Pakistani media have kicked off a fresh
controversy about the health and the
whereabouts of Dawood Ibrahim, one of
India’s most wanted terrorists-cum-under-world don who runs a vast illegal business
empire — the D-Company — and allegedly
operates from Pakistan under the shield of
the country’s all-powerful intelligence
establishment.
Dawood is one of the most intriguing figures in the world of international terrorism, a billionaire gangster and a criminal
mastermind linked to everyone — from Al
Qaeda to Bollywood starlets to the East
African drug cartels. From Mumbai to
Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Karachi, the
stories associated with Dawood and his war
with his underworld rivals can beat the best
Bollywood thrillers, and have often
inspired them.
It is the nature of the crimes attributed to
Dawood that place him at the top of India’s
most wanted wish list. Dawood figures in a
list of 20 fugitives that India wants
Pakistan to hand over and is suspected to
be the prime player used by Pakistani intelligence to foment cross-border terrorism in
India. An impoverished street toughie from
Mumbai who grew up to possess international influence, Dawood formed the infamous D-Company, one of the most feared
international crime organizations.
A colorful mobster with powerful friends
in the Pakistani intelligence establishment,
his alleged crimes include murders, kidnappings, drug-smuggling and involvement in terrorist activities. He is the prime
accused in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai
serial blasts in which 12 car bombs killed
almost 300 people and injured over a 1,000
more.
Until the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001,
the 1993 Mumbai serial bombing was the
single-most destructive terrorist act com-
mitted in modern history.
Currently on the most wanted list of the
Interpol for his involvement in organized
crime and counterfeiting and ranking No. 4
on the Forbes list of the World’s Top 10
most dreaded criminals, Dawood had been
declared a specially designated global terrorist by the United States State
Department in October 2003 due to his
alleged Al Qaeda links.
According to the US Treasury
Department’s charge-sheet, Dawood maintained close links with Osama bin Laden.
Much to Islamabad’s embarrassment, the
Treasury Department amongst its reasons
for naming Dawood in the list of the
world’s worst terrorists, cited intelligence
reports of his connection with Al Qaeda
and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
The US fact sheet stated: Dawood
Ibrahim, son of a police constable, has
financially supported Islamic militant
groups working against India such as
Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
Information as recent as the fall of 2002
indicates that Dawood had been helping
finance terrorist attacks in Gujarat by
Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the armed wing of the
Pakistan-based Markaz Dawatul Irshad, an
anti-US Sunni missionary organization
formed by Hafiz Saeed in 1989.
Dawood, who was born Sheikh Dawood
Meanwhile, much
buzz about
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Ibrahim Kaskar December 26, 1955 in
Mumbai, became India’s most wanted ter-
rorist for organizing and financing the 1993
serial bomb blasts in the Indian commer-
cial capital. The 1993 serial bombings were
believed to be carried out in revenge for the
deaths of hundreds of Muslims in the 1992
anti-Muslim riots in Mumbai, which were
blamed on the right-wing Shiv Sena party.
Dawood subsequently abandoned India
and, according to the Central Bureau of
Investigation, he is hiding in Pakistan,
which Islamabad vigorously denies.
