Finally, The US Acknowledges Dawood As 'Global Terrorist'

And what is damning for Musharraf, who had mocked the home minister's request for extradition of Dawood Ibrahim during his India visit? Specific mention of his Pakistani passport number and residency in Karachi and the role played by Ibrahim in finan

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 16 October 2003 12:00 am

In a much awaited validation of Indian position, the U.S. Treasury Department today announced that it isdesignating Dawood Ibrahim - the top name on Indian list of 20 wanted from Pakistan - as a SpeciallyDesignated Global Terrorist under ExecutiveOrder 13224 and will be requesting that the United Nations list him as well.

Today’s designation freezes any assets belonging to Ibrahim within the U.S. and prohibits transactionswith U.S. nationals. The UN listing will require that all UN Member States take similar actions.

"This designation signals our commitment to identifying and attacking the financial ties between thecriminal underworld and terrorism," stated Juan Zarate, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financingand Financial Crimes.

"We are calling on the international community to stop the flow of dirty money that kills. For theIbrahim syndicate, the business of terrorism forms part of their larger criminal enterprise, which must bedismantled."

As the US Public Affairs press release put it, "Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime lord, has found commoncause with Al Qaida, sharing his smuggling routes with the terror syndicate and funding attacks by Islamicextremists aimed at destabilizing the Indian government. He is wanted in India for the 1993 Bombay Exchangebombings and is known to have financed the activities of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Army of the Righteous), a groupdesignated by the United States in October 2001 and banned by the Pakistani Government -- who also froze theirassets -- in January 2002.

"With today’s designation, the U.S. and our international partners have designated 322 individualsand organizations as terrorists and terrorist supporters and have frozen over $136.8 million in terroristassets.

But the real clincher for India came from the United States Officeof Foreign Assets Control: