Pakistan denies Dawood Ibrahim’s presence soon after sharing his Karachi address

Pakistan has denied the presence of Dawood Ibrahim in the country within a few hours of designating him a terrorist and issuing details of his Karachi address and multiple passports on August 22.

According to an India Today report, Pakistan has claimed there was no admission of the don’s presence on their soil.

Pakistan recently issued a list containing names of persons and organisations that have been designated terrorists by the United Nations. The list they published had 88 terror organisations and entities enlisted, including Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, and Masood Azhar.

In the same report, they had mentioned that Dawood, who is a most-wanted criminal in India and is believed to have masterminded the 1993 blasts in Mumbai, lives in a building called the ‘White House’ located near Saudi Mosque, Clifton, Karachi. He reportedly has other properties listed in Karachi as well. India has been claiming for long that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood.

The notification they shared stated: “As of August 18, 2020, the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee has approved the entries specified below to its list of individuals and entities subject to assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of the Security Council resolution 2368 (2018) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.”

The list was issued by Pakistan in an attempt to salvage its image and prevent it from being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan has been on FATF’s dangerous “grey list” since 2018.

Pakistan needs 15 votes to have its name removed from the grey list and needs the support of four nations to save itself from being blacklisted. It is believed, Pakistan already has the support of Turkey, China, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.