NEW YORK, Jan 24:
The US help freeze the reported assets of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and help India in its anti-terror fight, a column in the New York Times suggested. “One of India’s most wanted men, Dawood Ibrahim, is an organised crime boss frequently seen in Karachi. According to the UN, he funds the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba, which attacked Mumbai in 2008,” said the op-ed column written by Michael Kugelman.
The Times column was written on the eve of President Barack Obama’s visit to India, and it observed the US should help guard India against Pakistan-based terror groups. The column — titled Fix the Link to Pakistan, Bond with India — was published in the influential newspaper yesterday. Mr Kugelman is a senior associate for South Asians at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. The columnist said, “He (Ibrahim) is believed to hold assets in Dubai. Washington should work with officials in the Persian Gulf to freeze those assets.”
Mr Kugelman pointed out both India and the US have declared themselves as natural partners, but they cannot achieve a deep and strategic partnership till the US deals more forthrightly with Pakistan.
“In other words, Washington must do more to address India’s anxieties about Pakistan,” the columnist noted. “Push back against Pakistan in order to further America’s friendship with India, while taking care not to alienate the Pakistanis.”
Washington should also encourage Islamabad to steer it away from the Kashmir issue and seek normalisation of Indo-Pak ties. Since the issue (Kashmir) is nowhere near a solution, the focus should be on strengthening of relationships in other areas, according to Mr Kugelman. (UNI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel