Officials hope Dawood will be caught soon
The fugitive terrorist’s name was included in the recent Indo-US joint statement.
ABHINANDAN MISHRA New Delhi | 4th Oct 2014
Officials in the Indian security establishment are hopeful that the extradition of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim will happen soon after his name was included in the Indo-US joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra's Modi visit to the United States. Said the joint statement, "The leaders stressed the need for joint and concerted efforts, including the dismantling of safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks, to disrupt all financial and tactical support for networks such as Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D-company, and the Haqqanis." D-company is used to describe Dawood's widespread network of illegal activities.
Sources in the security establishment said that the political intent that Dawood needs to be brought back to India was communicated to the officials as soon as the BJP came to power in May. "It will be inappropriate to dwell on the details, but the fact is that we have been working on him (Dawood) more seriously that we have done in the last ten years," a senior official with the Intelligence Bureau said.
The strategic and tactical support that the US is expected to offer, is expected to dry up the financial and tactical support to the terror organisations mentioned in the joint statement. "We want to disrupt the funding of Dawood and have sought an increased cooperation related to keeping a tab on his movements from one place to another," the official added.
According to officials, Dawood's extradition is important for various reasons. "The fact that we have not been able to bring him to justice all these years despite knowing his whereabouts puts a question mark on our counter-terror mechanism and our political will. He is the number one target for us right now and we are making sure that no stone is left unturned in order to bring him back," the official said.
The extradition of Dawood, has been "very high" on the Prime Minister's agenda, officials say and to achieve that the IB and RAW are keeping up a sustained pressure on the D-company's network in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dubai. Officials said that they are expecting a "major" damage to the D-company soon.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections Narendra Modi had said he wanted to bring Dawood back to India if voted to power. Getting the US on board in apprehending Dawood is being seen as a significant step in this direction. "We hope to be able to track his movements and get him to face trial in India," an official said.
In 2001, during the Agra summit, the issue of Dawood's extradition had come up during the meet between the then Home Minister L.K Advani and Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf. However, after that failed summit, Dawood was never accorded any "urgency" by the subsequent UPA governments.
The present National Security Adviser (NSA), Ajit Doval was the chief of the Intelligence Bureau in 2001 and had pushed to make Dawood as one of the crucial points for the normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan during the Advani-Musharraf meet.
As in 2001, this time too Doval is pursuing the case. "The fact that Doval is now the NSA is bad news for Dawood. The heat on him will increase significantly because of the assets, the experience and the personal rapport Doval has with PM Modi. He is the best man we have to take on someone like Dawood," the official said.
The fugitive terrorist’s name was included in the recent Indo-US joint statement.
ABHINANDAN MISHRA New Delhi | 4th Oct 2014
Officials in the Indian security establishment are hopeful that the extradition of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim will happen soon after his name was included in the Indo-US joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra's Modi visit to the United States. Said the joint statement, "The leaders stressed the need for joint and concerted efforts, including the dismantling of safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks, to disrupt all financial and tactical support for networks such as Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D-company, and the Haqqanis." D-company is used to describe Dawood's widespread network of illegal activities.
Sources in the security establishment said that the political intent that Dawood needs to be brought back to India was communicated to the officials as soon as the BJP came to power in May. "It will be inappropriate to dwell on the details, but the fact is that we have been working on him (Dawood) more seriously that we have done in the last ten years," a senior official with the Intelligence Bureau said.
The strategic and tactical support that the US is expected to offer, is expected to dry up the financial and tactical support to the terror organisations mentioned in the joint statement. "We want to disrupt the funding of Dawood and have sought an increased cooperation related to keeping a tab on his movements from one place to another," the official added.
According to officials, Dawood's extradition is important for various reasons. "The fact that we have not been able to bring him to justice all these years despite knowing his whereabouts puts a question mark on our counter-terror mechanism and our political will. He is the number one target for us right now and we are making sure that no stone is left unturned in order to bring him back," the official said.
The extradition of Dawood, has been "very high" on the Prime Minister's agenda, officials say and to achieve that the IB and RAW are keeping up a sustained pressure on the D-company's network in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dubai. Officials said that they are expecting a "major" damage to the D-company soon.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections Narendra Modi had said he wanted to bring Dawood back to India if voted to power. Getting the US on board in apprehending Dawood is being seen as a significant step in this direction. "We hope to be able to track his movements and get him to face trial in India," an official said.
In 2001, during the Agra summit, the issue of Dawood's extradition had come up during the meet between the then Home Minister L.K Advani and Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf. However, after that failed summit, Dawood was never accorded any "urgency" by the subsequent UPA governments.
The present National Security Adviser (NSA), Ajit Doval was the chief of the Intelligence Bureau in 2001 and had pushed to make Dawood as one of the crucial points for the normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan during the Advani-Musharraf meet.
As in 2001, this time too Doval is pursuing the case. "The fact that Doval is now the NSA is bad news for Dawood. The heat on him will increase significantly because of the assets, the experience and the personal rapport Doval has with PM Modi. He is the best man we have to take on someone like Dawood," the official said.
