Put pressure on Pak, get Dawood
Even as Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies denied reports of the arrest of India’s most wanted fugitive and alleged mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blast Dawood Ibrahim and his associates by Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the ...
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Even as Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies denied reports of the arrest of India’s most wanted fugitive and alleged mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blast Dawood Ibrahim and his associates by Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has renewed its call for their extradition.
Brushing aside the denial by Pakistan as on expected lines, the BJP stepped up its tempo by asking the US to pressure Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim and his associate Tiger Memon to India and use the opportunity to “establish its bona fides and earnest commitment to the global war on terror.”
The Opposition party has demanded that the Centre take all requisite diplomatic and ‘all other available leverages’ to secure the extradition of Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. Explaining the urgency of the demand, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “We need to remind ourselves that Dawood Ibrahim is a proclaimed terrorist who masterminded the 1993 Mumbai blast along with Tiger Menon.
These two deliberately and persistently refused to submit to the process of law in spite of a red corner Interpol notice and found a safe sanctuary in Pakistan. Let us not forget that more than ten accused have been given capital punishment in the trial, which is a very conclusive evidence to demonstrate the severity of the crime.”
Taking the opportunity to draw attention to NDA’s efforts in this regard, the BJP spokesperson said it was the NDA government that secured an acknowledgement and agreement from General Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan would not permit its territory to be used for the spread of terror related activities.
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“It is our charge that the UPA government has for all practical purposes forgotten this agreement. Terror and terrorism is a politically dirty word for them,” said Prasad.In a report in late July, US law enforcement agencies have described Dawood Ibrahim as “an Al-Qaeda facilitator now living in Pakistan, who has already been placed in the same category as top Al-Qaeda operatives with Interpol issuing a special notice against him.” It has been reported that the DEA in its communications with Pakistani authorities, has claimed that D-company was involved in large-scale shipment of narcotics into the UK.
“The BJP is of the view that given the close links of Dawood Ibrahim with Al-Qaeda elements which are increasingly coming into focus, the US must prevail upon Pakistan to extradite Dawood to India. In a way the declared commitment of US against terrorism is on test. If the US is sincere about its fight against global terrorism, it must pressure Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon to India,” Prasad said.
Referring to the larger threat of terrorism, the BJP spokesperson said that the threats made by Al Qaeda and its affiliates need to be taken seriously. The latest threat video needs to be taken seriously and the comical theatre being indulged into by some ministers needs to be controlled. The BJP has urged the government to use all diplomatic pressure to ensure that the Jama’at ud-Dawa is banned under Security Council resolution no 1373.
“It is reported that China is opposing this move in concert with Pakistan for their own obvious interest.” The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which was banned by the US and UK in 2001 and by Pakistan in 2002, renamed itself as Jama’at ud-Dawa in January 2002 to escape the ban.
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