JOIN USPakistan does U-turn, denies Dawood Ibrahim's presence in Karachi
After a statutory regulatory order (SRO) issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the addresses, aliases and passport numbers of Dawood Ibrahim, one of the most wanted men by Indian authorities for perpetrating the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the ministry issued a statement that reports claiming “Pakistan admitting to the presence of certain listed individuals on its territory, based on the information contained in the SRO, are baseless and misleading.”
Dawood Ibrahim was among 88 others who were in a list of persons under an arms embargo, whose assets were ordered to be frozen and under a travel ban. The SRO by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an order to avoid being blacklisted by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force(FATF).
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued two consolidated SROs on 18 August 2020, reflecting the current status of the UN Taliban and ISIL(Da’esh) and AQ Sanctions list. These lists contain names of individuals and entities designated under the two sanction regimes established pursuant to the UN Security Council resolutions. The consolidated SROs are issued periodically as a routine matter. Similar SROs have been issued, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the past, as per statutory requirements to meet our international obligations. Last such SROs were issued in 2019,” read the statement.
“It is once again reiterated that the information contained in the SRO is reproduced as per the details in the list entry of the individuals/entities designated under the two sanctions regime, which is publically available, and contains names of individuals who despite their confirmed deceased status still continue to be on the sanctions list,” added the statement.
Other than Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Taiba head Hafiz Saeed, head of LeT’s operations and 26/11 accused Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar are among the list of those sanctioned.