India's First Secretary to the UN, Raghoo Puri, flagged factual inaccuracies in a report by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul, arguing that its account of Dawood Ibrahim's 2003 listing for links to Al-Qaeda painted a misleading picture. Puri said the fugitive underworld don had fled India before the listing and remained wanted for terror attacks dating back to 1993.
Speaking during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism at the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) Third Committee, Puri said, "This organisation [D Company] and its listed leader, Dawood Ibrahim, has been wanted in India for terror attacks since 1993."
"This individual fled India much before the 2003 listing, and it was during this period, from outside our country, that he was listed for being associated with Al-Qaeda and with Osama bin Laden," he said. Puri added that Dawood remained a wanted criminal in India and, according to the UN listing entry, resided in the same country where Osama bin Laden was found and neutralised, hinting at Pakistan.
The Indian diplomat criticised factual inaccuracies in the Special Rapporteur's report, saying that member states were being presented with a "fait accompli". He further rejected Pakistan's remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, calling them "pure propaganda made for very narrow political gains".
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(Written by Anand Singh)