Dawood's network involved in Mumbai attacks: Russia

NEW DELHI: Russia believes that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was directly involved in the Mumbai terror attacks and his network was used by the terrorists to carry out the multiple attacks. Moscow, which has been sharing intelligence with New Delhi, further believes that Dawood���s drug network, which runs through Afghanistan, was used to finance the terror attack.

It is understood that India and Russia at a meeting of the joint working group on combating international terrorism discussed the Mumbai terror attacks and the illegal drug trafficking network in Afghanistan.
Russia has gone public with its intelligence inputs that point to the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to be operating his vast network from Karachi, in the Mumbai terror attacks.

���The gathered inputs testify that regional drug baron Dawood Ibrahim had provided his logistics network for preparing and carrying out the Mumbai terror attacks,��� Russia���s federal anti-narcotics service director Viktor Ivanov said in an interview to Russian government daily Rossiskaya Gazeta. He had further said that the Mumbai attacks were a ���burning example��� of how the illegal drug trafficking network was used for carrying out terror activities.

The Indian side, however, is keeping a tight lid on the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim, who is one of the criminals that India wants extradited from Pakistan.

Special representative of the Russian president for international co-operation in the fight against terrorism, Anatoly Safonov, who led the Russian delegation the joint working group, has said that the drug network, which finances the terror network, was a joint problem for India and Russia and that the two countries co-operate more closely in the area.

This was reflected in a joint statement released after the talks. The two sides have agreed to work together to track terror funds. ���The two sides noted that curbing financing of terrorism is a key component of the counter-terrorism strategy and agreed to strengthen bilateral interaction in this field,��� the joint statement said.

India and Russia have recently signed an agreement on co-operation between the Financial Intelligence Unit of India and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation . The two sides have also agreed that the spread of narcotics ���threatens the security of both countries.���

The two sides said terrorism was a key part of the strategic relationship. ���Both sides noted that their co-operation in combating terrorism constitutes an important part of the strategic partnership between the two countries,��� the joint statement.

India also sought Russia���s help in pushing the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which India had sponsored at the UN General Assembly.

Mr Safonov has said that Russia is willing to work with India to ���inject new dynamism��� in the convention that has been held up over the definition of terrorism . The Russian side had also offered to explain to Indian officials the steps taken by Russia after the Beslan school terrorist attack.

Pakistan has no excuse, says friend Oman

IN a reflection of the current international mood against terrorism originating from Pakistan, Oman has told India that there is no excuse for the continued existence of terror infrastructure in Pakistan, reports Our Political Bureau from New Delhi.

Omani foreign minister Yusuf Bin Alawai Bin Abdullah noted during a meeting with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee that there `` can be no excuse for not dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism across the Indian border,������ according to a external affairs ministry press release.

Pakistan, which is under increasing international pressure, counts Gulf countries, especially Oman, among its supporters and has always sought their support on issues like Kashmir. The close ties that Oman and Pakistan share can be gauged from the fact that Pakistan and Oman are at present conducting a six-day joint naval exercise in the North Arabian Sea, which is to end on December 20.

The remarks by Mr Abdullah, who did not name Pakistan, showed that even an Islamic nation, which has close links with Pakistan, is behind India in pushing Pakistan to dismantle the terror network. For New Delhi, this show of support comes as a boost in its effort to put pressure on Pakistan to take concrete action against the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror network, which carried out the Mumbai terror attacks.

Mr Mukherjee, sharing details of the Mumbai terror attacks, told Mr Abdullah that the results of the ongoing investigation pointed to `` complicity of elements������ in Pakistan. He also shared details of India���s demarche to Pakistan, asking for action and not just rhetoric.

`Referring to the demarche made to Pakistan on December 1, asking Islamabad to honour commitments made on several occasions, not to allow Pakistani territory to be used for terrorist attacks against India, Mr Mukherjee stressed that it was time for Pakistani action not words,������ an MEA press release said.

The Omani foreign minister did not dispute the findings of Mumbai attacks terror probe that leads to the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror network in Pakistan.