New Delhi:
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, India’s most wanted terrorist, is in Pakistan, the US government has told a London court. The US government’s confirmation exposes Pakistan’s blatant lie. The US government told the British Court that the Underworld don’s empire is based out from Karachi. The US government’s official statement was made during the hearing of Dawood’s top aide Jabir Moti’s extradition trial at a court in London. Jabir Moti, 51, who was arrested by Scotland Yard last year, appeared before the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London at the start of his trial on Monday. He faces extradition to the US after an FBI probe charged him with money laundering, extortion and conspiracy to import unlawful substances such as heroine.
Moti, who appeared in the dock unshaven and in a scruffy T-shirt, has been lodged at Wandsworth prison ? the same prison in south-west London where fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is currently being held pending his extradition trial sought by India in relation to the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.
Moti was arrested by the Scotland Yard from a London hotel in August 2018 in connection with a US grand jury indictment following an extensive FBI probe. The charges against him relate to a period between 2010 and 2014 and could carry a sentence of around 25 years behind bars in the US. His defence team has previously disputed allegations of him being a key aide of D Company as "obvious nonsense", describing Moti as a "man of exemplary character" who is a tax paying, prominent businessman based in Karachi and accredited as a stock broker, with a family stock-broking business dating back to the 1950s in Pakistan.
Right after 1993 serial blasts, Pakistan has been consistently denying Dawood’s presence on its soil. With Narendra Modi returning to power and Ajit Doval becoming more powerful, there were reports that India may undertake an Osama-like operation to take out Dawood from Karachi. The son of a police constable, who became the boss of Mumbai’s underworld, exact details about Dawood have remained largely sketchy. From undergoing knife to change his facial features to ailing from a kidney disease, numerous reports have surfaced from time to time. But there has been no consistent dialogue between India and Pakistan regarding Dawood Ibrahim. It was only in 2014 that India had told Pakistan to hand over Dawood saying enough evidences have been shared with Islamabad.
Dawood Ibrahim, who jumped bail and escaped to Dubai, is still wanted by the DRI under the COFEPOSA case. former Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence BV Kumar, who wrote 'DRI and the Dons' had said that, “Dawood used his money power to lure everyone. From Bollywood stars to cricketers and maybe some big politicians. But I am of the view that once India signed extradition treaty with the UAE, the underworld lord was compelled to leave Dubai and take a permanent refuge in Pakistan. He is no more as influential as he was in the UAE "where he was rubbing shoulders with celebrities," he said.
