India’s most wanted: 40 who operate from Pakistan

India’s External affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated in the Parliament on December 11, 2008 that Pakistan has been asked to return 40 fugitives indicted in different terrorist and criminal activities in India.

It is believed that the previous 20 most wanted people India had asked Pakistan to extradite are also a part of the new list of 40. The Government of India has never made the list public. Hence, there is no clear information as to who actually figures in that list.

The below mentioned list of 40 most wanted fugitives was handed down to Pakistan recently.

1. Maulana Masood Azhar

Masood Azhar is considered to be Pakistan’s one of the most important  international jihadists, say a noted Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid.

According to Rashid, Azhar had fought in Afghanistan and set up Harkat-ul-Mujahideen affiliates in Chechnya, Somalia, and Central Asia.

Rashid claims that Masood Azhar taught Somalian warlords the technique of trimming the fins of their rocket-propelled grenades so that they would explode in midair and bring down US helicopters. The warlords shot down several US  Black Hawk helicopters in 1993 with the technique.

He was arrested in India in 1994 and as mentioned by Ahmed Rashid in his book, Descent into Chaos: How the war against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Bin Laden wanted him freed and so he ordered al Qaida to plan the Indian Airlines hijacking  with Harkat.

Azhar, born on July 10, 1968 in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, was freed by the Indian authorities in exchange of the crew and passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814.

Masood Azhar, Rashid says, was a charismatic leader and organizer and his stint in an Indian jail enhanced his reputation. On return, Azhar, with active support from Pakistan’s ISI, set up Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Prophet Mohammed).

“Marry for jihad, give birth for jihad and earn money only for jihad till the cruelty of American and India ends,” Azhar told crowds at a rally in Karachi, reported by Reuters on January 6, 2000.

Jaish, under Azhar’s leadership, introduced the first suicide bombings in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian agencies have accused Masood Azhar of playing a role in  the attacks on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly (October 1, 2001) and the Indian Parliament (December 13, 2001).

Azhar has been arrested by the Pakistani government after the Indian Parliament attack in 2001 but was released subsequently.

Current location: Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Click here to read the detailed profile of Masood Azhar…

2. Syed Salahuddin

Syed Salahuddin, also known as Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, is the head of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

Salahuddin obtained a master’s degree in political science from Srinagar University in 1971. Hailing from Ameer Kadal vilage near Srinagar, he contested the 1987 state elections in Jammu and Kashmir representing the Muslim United Front (MUF). He lost in polls believed to be rigged by the National Conference with the tacit support of the Indian government.

Salahuddin left the state and fought against the Soviets in the Afghan war till 1994. He headed the HM after that and is presently its Supreme Commander.  Salahuddin also heads the United Jehadi Council, which is an umbrella group of about 19 Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant groups.

The Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by him, has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on the Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Current location: Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Click here to read the detailed profile of Syed Salahuddin…

3. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar

Born on December 31, 1955 in Ratnagiri area of Maharashtra, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar is India’s Osama bin Laden. The underworld don is the man behind the 13 explosions that took place in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, also known as Mumbai serial blasts.

Security and intelligence agencies have also hinted at Dawood’s involvement in the recent Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008.

The head of the organized criminal syndicate D-Company, Dawood’s is involved in drug trafficking, counterfeiting, weapons smuggling and murder. The United States has even declared him a ‘Global Terrorist’ because of his links with al Qaida and for funding attacks by Islamic extremists in India.

According to the Indian intelligence agencies, Dawood operates from Pakistan’s Karachi city. Dawood shifted to Karachi after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts but the Pakistani authorities have till date denied his presence.

Various accounts of his lavish lifestyle in Karachi, under the protection of Pakistan’s ISI, have appeared in the media. A US Office of Foreign Assets Control statement from June 1, 2006 has listed at least five addresses for Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi and Dubai.

• 617 CP Berar Society, Block 7-8, Karachi
• House No. 37, Street 30, Phase V, Defense Housing Authority, Karachi
• House No. 10, Hill Top Arcade, Defense Housing Authority, Karachi
• Moin Palace, 2nd Floor, Opp Abdullah Shah Gazi Dargah, Clifton, Karachi
• White House, Al-Wassal Road, Jumeira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dawood’s D-Company is still very much active in India, specially Mumbai. The route used by the Mumbai terror attackers is the same used by the D-gang for smuggling.

Despite mounting evidence of his links with ISI in spreading terror in India, Pakistan still insists that Dawood is not in their country. Various media reports also suggested that Dawood has undergone plastic surgery to alter his physical appearance.

Current location: Karachi, Pakistan.

Click here to read the detailed profile of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar…

4. Chhota Shakeel

Chhota Shakeel is a key associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

According to the Indian intelligence agencies, he is an ISI agent.

Shakeel, who grew up in Mumbai’s Nagpada area, is wanted in India for murder, extortion, kidnapping, blackmail of businessmen and Indian film stars.

He specializes in extorting money from the Indian film industry.

Current location: Karachi, Pakistan.

5. ‘Tiger’ Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon

Tiger Memon, born in Mumbai on November 24, 1960, is the prime accused in the Mumbai serial blasts of 1993.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Tiger was the key conspirator in the blasts case. His role as a prime accused in the blasts has been confirmed by the Special TADA court in Mumbai.

Cases of murder, extortion, kidnapping, terrorism, smuggling of arms and explosives in India are pending against him. Tiger Memon fled India a morning before the serial blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

Tiger is also considered to be one of the most trusted henchmen of Dawood Ibrahim.

Current location: Karachi, Pakistan.

6. Ayub Memon

Ayub is the younger brother of the main accused of 1993 Mumbai blasts, Tiger Memon. He is also an accused in the same case.

Ayub is wanted in India in connection with cases of terrorism and smuggling.

After the 1993 Mumbai blasts, most members of the Memon family fled to Pakistan. All of them, except Ayub and Tiger, have returned to India.

Ayub and his wife Reshma stayed back in Pakistan.

Current location: Karachi, Pakistan.

7. Sagir Sabir Ali Shaikh

Sagir Shaikh is wanted for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and also in connection with a conspiracy to kill L K Advani.

Sagir, a drug smuggler, is also involved in money laundering and is an associate of Dawood.

Current Location: Karachi, Pakistan.

8. Ibrahim Athar

Ibrahim Athar, born in Bahawalpur (Pakistan) in 1965, is the younger brother of Maulana Masood Azhar.

Athar was the head of the group that hijacked Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 (Kathmandu to Delhi) on December 24, 1999. He is wanted in India for hijacking, kidnapping and murder charges.

Current location: Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

9. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi

10. Aamir Raza Khan

11. Mohammed Abdul Sahid

12. Azam Cheema

13. Rahil Sheikh

14. Amanullah Khan

15. Feroz Abdul

16. Anees Ibrahim

17. Anwar Ahmed Haji

18. Mohammed Ahmed Dosa

19. Ishaq Hussain alias Ali Musa

20. Aftab Batki

21. Javed Patel

22. Karimullah Habib Sheikh

23. Salim Abdul Gani Qazi

24. Riyaz Abu Bakr

25. Munaf Abdul Majid

26. Mohammed Tahir

27. Khan Bashir Ahmed

28. Yakub Khan

29. Mohammed Safi

30. Irfan Ahmed

31. Zahoor Ibrahim Mistri

32. Shahid Akhtar Sayed

33. Azhar Yusuf

34. Sakir Mohammed Sarkar

35. Abdul Rauf

36. Wadhawan Singh Babbar

37. Ranjit Singh Neeta

38. Paramjit Singh Panjwar

39. Lakhbir Singh Rode

40. Gajinder Singh