Dawood Ibrahim is held in high esteem in Pakistan

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In an exclusive interview to NDTV, General Parvez Musharraf has said
that he cannot confirm whether underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is hiding
in Pakistan. The former Pakistani president has also said that Mr
Ibrahim, who tops India's most-wanted list, is held in 'high esteem' by
many in his country, which makes the possibility of his extradition to
India complicated.

"They think that he did a very good
job...Because Indians killed 3,000 Gujaratis. In Gujarat they killed
3,000 Muslims. Therefore Dawood Ibrahim reacted. So he is held in high
esteem. This is what happens in Pakistan," said the General, who was
president of Pakistan for nine years.

This is the first time
that a Pakistani leader has acknowledged the possibility that Mr Ibrahim
has been given refuge in the country . In May this year, BJP leader LK
Advani blogged that General Musharraf had earlier denied that Mr Ibrahim
is in Pakistan. Mr Advani said that when they met in 2001 in Agra, he
told the President, "...you would be making a great contribution to the
peace process if you handed over to India Dawood Ibrahim." Mr Advani
says that the General responded, "Mr. Advani, let me tell you
emphatically that Dawood Ibrahim is not in Pakistan."

India
believes Mr Ibrahim funded and masterminded the 1993 serial blasts in
Mumbai, in which at least 250 people were killed and 700 injured.
Pakistani officials have always denied that Mr Ibrahim lives in Karachi,
though he is widely known to own a huge house in a posh part of the
city.




Sources in the Home
Ministry say they continue to believe that Mr Ibrahim is based in
Pakistan and uses multiple passports for international travel. He will
continue to remain on India's most wanted list till he is arrested, they
maintain. "I think he (Musharraf) in one sense has betrayed himself
by saying that Dawood was responsible for the attacks in India. That
itself shows (that) the Pakistani establishment knew very well what they
were doing," said former Home Secretary GK Pillai.

On March
12, 1993, serial blasts in Mumbai in a span of a few hours in the
afternoon shook the city. The 13 locations targeted included the Bombay
Stock Exchange, the Air India Building and crowded markets like
Zaveri Bazaar.

In 2003, Mr Ibrahim , who is also on the Interpol's list for organized crime, was designated by the US as a global terrorist.

In
the past, Indian security agencies have maintained that Mr Ibrahim has
bases in Pakistani cities including Karachi. His name has been on the
top of the list of fugitives India has periodically handed over to
Pakistan .

Here is the transcript of the General Musharraf's comments on Mr Ibrahim:

Barkha Dutt:
...Dawood Ibrahim. LK Advani wrote in a blog that when he met you in
Agra he brought up this issue and you got very angry and you said that
"These are small things and they are not true." But do you understand
General Musharraf the symbolism of what Dawood Ibrahim means to India?
And it's widely been believed for so many years that Dawood Ibrahim has a
house in Karachi. That the address is known to everybody. There's a
Javed Miandad who has married into that family.

Musharraf: Ok, now you are talking about what the Indian perceptions are. But do you know what Pakistanis think of Dawood Ibrahim?

Barkha Dutt: What do they think?

Musharraf: They
think that he did a very good job... Because Indians killed 3,000
Gujaratis. In Gujarat they killed 3,000 Muslims. Therefore Dawood
Ibrahim reacted. So he is held in high esteem. This is what happens in
Pakistan.

Barkha Dutt: But sir, should reaction be through violence and bomb blasts and terrorism?

Musharraf:
Yes, it must not be. It must not be, no. I won't agree. I agree with
you. It should not be. But things are not as simple. That is what I am
trying to say. I think things are very complicated. They are not simple.

Barkha Dutt: But do you accept that Dawood Ibrahim is hidden in Pakistan?

Musharraf: I don't know. I don't know. I wouldn't be able to confirm that. I don't know it.

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