'He is not on our soil': Pakistan does an about-turn on Dawood Ibrahim

Brushes aside media reports claiming that Islamabad has 'admitted to his presence' as 'baseless and misleading'

A day after admitting that India’s most-wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government took a U-turn on its own statement.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Sunday refuting the presence of certain listed individuals on its territory.

Dawood was among 88 who figured in a list, published as a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to escape blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

A part of the statement issued on Sunday said: “The reports in certain sections of the media about Pakistan imposing new sanctions measures, through these SROs, are not factual. Similarly, the assertions made by some sections of the Indian 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.”

Besides Dawood, Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed, Lashkar’s operations head and 26/11 accused Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar also figure on the list.

All designated terrorists on the list will have no direct access to funds, be able to enter or transit through Pakistan, or be able to procure weapons. The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats.