India Challenges UN Report’s ‘India-Based’ Label for D-Company

At the United Nations, Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri pointed to the UN’s own sanctions record to challenge one phrase: “India-based D-Company.” He said the label gives a misleading picture. Dawood Ibrahim had left India before the UN listed him in 2003 for links to Al-Qaeda. India’s argument is about where the group was based and what the report left out. ^1,7

That phrase appeared in a July report by Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism. Speaking Wednesday to the General Assembly’s Third Committee, Puri said Ibrahim and D-Company had been wanted in India over terror attacks since 1993. That fact appeared in the summary behind Ibrahim’s listing under the UN’s 1267 sanctions rules. Puri said Ibrahim fled India well before the 2003 listing and was listed while outside the country. ^1,6

The 1993 attacks and the later listing matter because the report’s wording can blur two different claims: that D-Company has links to India, and that it was based there. India says the omission weakens the UN’s account and its credibility. Puri also said the UN listing placed Ibrahim in the same country where Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed, referring to Pakistan. The sources report India’s claim, not an independent finding on Ibrahim’s current location. ^1,9

Pakistan’s role gives the dispute a wider diplomatic edge: India has repeatedly accused it of sheltering Ibrahim, while Puri also rejected Pakistan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He called for accuracy and accountability from UN experts. The sources report no correction to Saul’s report. The next step is for the report’s wording and the cited sanctions record to remain at the centre of the Third Committee exchange. ^1,6