Pakistan confirms putting Dawood Ibrahim's name in new terror sanctions list
Islamabad: Days after including India's most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim on its new sanctions list, Pakistan on Sunday tried to wriggle out of its admission on his presence in the country by claiming that its notifications about the 88 banned terror groups and their leaders were based on the details provided by the UN.
Seeking to escape from getting blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Pakistan on Friday imposed tough financial sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, including Ibrahim, 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.
The Pakistan government ordered the seizure of all movable and immovable properties of these outfits and individuals, and freezing of their bank accounts.
Underworld don Ibrahim, who heads a vast and multifaceted illegal business, has emerged as India's most wanted terrorist after the 1993 Mumbai bombings.
In 2003, the US declared Ibrahim as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. India has repeatedly asked the Government of Pakistan to hand over Ibrahim to India so that he can be prosecuted for the crimes committed by him. It is reported that Ibrahim is based in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan's Foreign Office issued a midnight statement in response to the media reports that Islamabad had admitted in the two new notifications issued on August 18 that Ibrahim was residing in the country.
It said that the SROs (Statutory Regulatory Orders) issued reflect the information contained in the list entry of UN designated individuals/entities. It said the reports in certain sections of the media about Pakistan imposing new sanctions measures, through these SROs, were not factual.
The assertions made by some sections of the media, as to Pakistan admitting to the "presence of certain listed individuals on its territory, based on the information contained in the SRO, are baseless and misleading", it claimed.
"It is once again reiterated that the information contained in the SRO is reproduced as per the details in the list entry of the individuals/entities designated under the two sanctions regime, which is publicly available, and contains names of individuals who despite their confirmed deceased status still continue to be on the sanctions list," it said.
The Foreign Office said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued two consolidated SROs on August 18, reflecting the current status of the UN Taliban and ISIL (Da'esh) and AQ Sanctions list.
These lists contain names of individuals and entities designated under the two sanction regimes established pursuant to the UN Security Council resolutions, it said, adding that the consolidated SROs are issued periodically as a routine matter.
Similar SROs have been issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past, as per statutory requirements to meet our international obligations. The last such SROs were issued in 2019, the Foreign Office said.
The Paris-based FATF put Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action by the end of 2019, but the deadline was extended later due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Though various sanctions were in place against almost all of those listed by the UNSC, the Pakistan government through the new notifications on Friday consolidated and documented the previously announced measures, Pakistani media reports said on Saturday.
The UNSC Sanctions Committee deals with sanctions on entities and individuals declared as terrorists. All states, including Pakistan, are bound to implement the sanctions which include assets freeze, an arms embargo, and travel ban.
It is believed that the latest move by the Pakistan government is part of its efforts to wriggle out of the grey list of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF.
On August 12, Pakistan Parliament's lower house passed four bills related to the tough conditions set by the FATF after the government and the Opposition reached a consensus.
The legislation was part of the efforts by Pakistan to move from the FATF's grey list to the white list.
In its third and final plenary held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic in June, the FATF decided to keep Pakistan in the "grey list" as Islamabad failed to check the flow of money to terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The plenary was held under the Chinese Presidency of Xiangmin Liu.
With Pakistan's continuation in the 'grey list', it will be difficult for the country to get financial aid from the IMF, World Bank, ADB, and the European Union, thus further enhancing problems for the nation which is in a precarious financial situation.
If Pakistan fails to comply with the FATF directive by October, there is every possibility that the global body may put the country in the 'Black List' along with North Korea and Iran.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The FATF currently has 39 members including two regional organisations - the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
