In a possibly embarrassing development for the Centre, some of the alleged addresses of Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan that found their way to the media last week from a >dossier prepared by the Home Ministry seem to have glaring errors.
The list was part of a file prepared by the Ministry for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval ahead of talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz. A copy of it is with The Hindu. The most “glaring error”, as reported by Pakistani newspapers, is the listing of an address similar to that of the Pakistani diplomat Maleeha Lodhi. A senior official told The Hindu that the list with the media was not an official one. “To think that this document has anything to do with what the NSA planned to give Mr. Aziz is absurd,” he said.
Ministry officials say addresses were collected over two decades
Home Ministry officials could not confirm that the alleged addresses of Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan were actually in the dossier Mr. Doval had planned to hand over to Mr. Aziz.
According to the document on Dawood Ibrahim (called Agenda Point 2) in the dossiers quoted by The Hindu and other national dailies on August 23, “Indian agencies initially located addresses in Pakistan as the hideout of Dawood Ibrahim,” listing nine addresses on one page — seven in Karachi and two in Islamabad.
On the subsequent page, the dossier details “new residences purchased by Dawood Ibrahim”, and lists a property in Karachi “close to the residence of Bilawal Zardari” and another one with the address Main Margalla Road, F-6/2, House No. 7, Islamabad. It is this house in one of Islamabad’s most upmarket addresses that seems similar to the address of one of Pakistan’s best known diplomats, former Ambassador to the U.S. and currently the Pakistani Ambassador to the U.N., Maleeha Lodhi, who lives in F-6/2, House No. 7, Street #17, Islamabad.
Pakistani newspapers have widely covered the story of the “mistaken addresses”, with photographs of Ms. Lodhi’s large house in Islamabad. The Nation , which broke the story, said the house was now used by her office staff, while she was at the U.N.
“If this is the same house as mentioned in the Indian dossiers, then that is wrong,” senior Pakistani journalist Mariana Babbar told The Hindu . “It has been with Ms. Lodhi’s family for decades, built by her parents in the early 1970s.”
Another address, identified as “Margalla Road, P-6/2, Street No. 22, House No. 29, Islamabad,” also seems erroneous as there is no ‘P’ sector in Islamabad.
“Over a period of time, Dawood Ibrahim has changed homes several times, and these addresses were collected by several sources over 20 years,” said one source. “But as of now, we have verified only four addresses, and those are the only ones that were sent on.” A senior official, who spoke to The Hindu , did not want to refer to the specific address. “We continue to monitor several addresses where Dawood Ibrahim is suspected to live,” he said.
