Met Dawood Ibrahim Twice in Karachi: Pakistan Journalist
In an interview with India Today’s Rahul Kanwal, Pakistani journalist talks about meeting Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi
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At a time when there is mounting evidence that Dawood Ibrahim, mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, is in Pakistan, reputed Pakistani author and journalist Arif Jamal, has confirmed that it is easy to meet the underworld don in Karachi.
India Today TV’s Rahul Kanwal interviewed Jamal, who met Dawood in Karachi. Claiming that Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim was his neighbour, Jamal said Dawood maintains a low profile and meets very few people. However, Ibrahim lived a free life in Karachi and was an easy man to track. Ibrahim did plenty of property business in Karachi and people knew him personally.
When asked when and where the meeting took place, Jamal replied:
I met him Karachi and I would not go beyond that. It was a defence neighbourhood and I am not sure whether he lives there anymore or not... If I give you an address it might be wrong. I don’t know where exactly he is now. I moved out of Pakistan in 2007. Anees Ibrahim was my neighbour in the defence neighbourhood of Karachi.
Jamal says that Pakistan’s support to Ibrahim is tactical: Pakistan supports whoever is ready to act against the Indian state. He sees this “as part of a bigger strategy, which is not only about Dawood Ibrahim.”
When asked whether Ibrahim has undergone facial surgery, he said that it was unlikely.
I think there weren’t any facial surgeries. I am not an expert but I did hear rumours about his surgeries. But to my naked eye, I don’t remember any difference. He just looked a bit old and worn out.
Jamal has also indicated that Ibrahim lives under vigilant military protection.
I did not check who they were but they looked very alert and well trained in their job. You see it would not be possible for Dawood or his gang members to survive in Pakistan if the Pakistani Army did not support them.
Jamal lives in Virginia, and was a contributor to the New York Times. His book ‘The Call for Transnational Jihad,’ exposed links between the ISI and Lashkar.