United Nations keeping a close watch on Dawood Ibrahim: India

The United Nations (U.N.) is keeping a close watch on Dawood Ibrahim and his activities, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Friday. Swarup was talking about the steps taken by a special monitoring team of the 1,267th committee of the U.N. to keep tabs on the wanted terrorist.

The team had recently confirmed that six of the nine addresses submitted by India to it had been confirmed to belong to Dawood Ibrahim, the man believed to have been the mastermind of the 1993 serial blasts that claimed 250 lives.

The explosions had come in the aftermath of the 1992-93 Mumbai riots that involved Hindus and Muslims. The riots themselves were said to be politically motivated, with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Dec. 6, 1992, acting as a catalyst.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, son of sub-inspector Ibrahim Kaskar, had reportedly fled overseas following the serial blasts. He is still believed to be there, a claim India has made time and again, adding to it the demand that Pakistan hand him over so he can stand trial for his crimes. It is believed he attended his nephew's wedding in Mumbai recently via video-conferencing. 

Swarup said on Friday that India has given the U.N. team more information regarding Dawood Ibrahim, as a result of which not only have his addresses in Pakistan been verified but some other records pertaining to him have also been updated. "Adding to the list is the information about Dawood's wife and his father's name. Also, several of his aliases have been included."

He explained that as a result of this update, four points regarding the issue have come to fore. "One: Dawood Ibrahim continues to remain on the designated list as global terrorist. Two: The 1267th committee's monitoring team retains Dawood's passport as a valid document. Three: The U.N. has also confirmed that he resides in and has properties in Pakistan," he said, adding: "The fourth point that emerged because of update is that the U.N. continues to keep regular watch on Dawood Ibrahim."

Swarup also said: "India continues to maintain that it is incumbent upon Pakistan to extradite this global terrorist, to whom it has provided sanctuary for a long time, to face the law for his crimes. We hope Pakistan will heed the international opinion on this issue."